Against All Odds
by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: Aside from Jarrod, the Barkleys think that Heath has gone to Abbottsville to simply help Tom's brother, Jim. Only...that's not the case. Rated T to be safe. Angst could be a part of the genre too.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The sun was just showing signs of going to bed by the time Heath, who had been traveling for the better part of the day, walked into Abbottsville leading his horse. He was supposed to have been in hours ago only his horse had thrown a shoe, and it had delayed him. He guessed he should have taken a train and then a stagecoach, but he hadn't wanted to leave Charger behind. So he'd taken a train and put Charger in the animal car until he had to travel by horseback. He just hoped that Jim Barkley would still be in town. He hated the idea of walking out to the ranch before he got to see his uncle. Just as he turned a corner and headed for the livery stable, he heard Jim Barkley calling him. Heath turned back and saw his later father's brother hurrying towards him.

"I was starting to think I needed to gather a search party!" Jim smiled as he slapped Heath on the back and asked his nephew what had kept him.

Heath pointed to Charger's right front leg and explained. "I was hoping to make it into town in time to see if the blacksmith could help me." He looked in the direction of the blacksmith shop which lay on the other end of town. "Though I guess I'll simply have put Charger up at the stable and take care of it in the morning." He said as he looked back at Jim.

"Pete might still be working," Jim smiled as he gestured in the same direction Heath had just been looking. "Even if he's not, he lives behind the blacksmith shop and he owes me one." Jim chuckled as he started walking.

Heath was walking beside Tom's brother in no time at all. While he appreciated his uncle's help, he hated the idea of disturbing the blacksmith if the man had actually gone home. After all, Heath knew all too well how it was to get comfortable in one's home only to be pulled away. It could be rather irritating at times, depending on what one was doing. Besides, Pete had been more than polite to Heath the few times Heath had been to Abbottsville. Heath didn't hesitate to speak up and tell Jim that he, Heath, had had other plans. "I was just going to stable Charger, get a room at the hotel, and then send word out to you that I'd be out as soon as I had Charger's shoe fixed."

"Nonsense," Jim shook his head and restated that he was sure Pete, the blacksmith, would be more than happy to help them. Jim also made it abundantly clear that Heath was not to argue with him, as Jim had been looking forward to Heath's visit and wasn't about to have his nephew spend the night in a hotel. That is, he wasn't about to stand by and watch it happen when he, Jim, had a perfectly good guest room waiting for Heath to use it. "We've had very little time to get to know each other since you joined the family." Jim smiled as he and Heath drew closer to the blacksmith shop. "Call me selfish, I want you at the ranch, not bedded down in some hotel." Jim told Heath as they walked up to Pete, who was just beginning to clean up. Though, he stopped the moment he saw Jim and Heath, along with the way Charger was walking as Heath led him towards the shop.

"Hello, Jim! Heath!" Peter grinned from ear to ear as set his tools in his hands down on the table that sat within five feet of him. "Been awhile," he said as he looked at Heath, "How ya been?"

"I'm fine, just tired." Heath gestured towards Charger's hoof and asked if Pete could help, adding that he, Heath, would wait until the morning if necessary.

Peter shook his head and told Heath it was no problem. "Why don't I take care of it and then take him to the livery stable for you?" He looked at Jim as if to ask him if he, Jim, wasn't going to take Heath out to the ranch himself.

Jim had to silently chuckle. Pete had known him for many years and could read him like a book, something Jim didn't know whether should irritate him or not. "Come on Heath, my rig is at the livery stable right now. I'll bring you back into town in the morning, or I'll have one of my employees do it." He and Heath then bid Peter goodbye. The blacksmith smiled, bid them farewell and then went to work…telling himself it was a good thing he was a widower or his wife would probably have had his hide for being late for supper.

~oOo~

Heath, who would have been helping Jim harness his horse to the small wagon he'd driven into town, had stayed inside the stable when his uncle led the horse out of the stable. Now Heath was looking around the livery stable as his uncle had insisted that he could harness his own horse. He wasn't surprised to see most of the stalls filled. Abbottsville had a fair amount of residents, was growing and had many visitors that passed through.

"Well, come on." Jim poked his head inside the stable and told Heath that everything was ready to go. "We just have to stop by the Patterson place. I told Widow Patterson I'd deliver this small amount of wood to her, only my day has not gone as I'd planned and-as you can see-I've been in town longer than I ever intended to be. She'll think I'm not bringing it, if we don't hurry."

Figuring his uncle was talking about an elderly widow, Heath climbed into the wagon. Soon he and his uncle were heading out of town; Jim explained the Patterson family lived three miles out of town. "Her brother would be getting her wood for her, except he busted up his leg last month and will be in a cast for another two weeks."

"No problem," Heath gave his uncle a crooked smile. Silence then fell between the two as Abbottsville slowly disappeared behind them.


	2. Reason for the trip

Against All Odds

Chapter Two

By the time Heath and Jim reached the Patterson home, the sun going down over the mountains. Still, they could see the light from a kerosene lamp burning in the kitchen window. By the time Heath and Jim climbed down from the wagon the Widow Patterson was standing on the porch of her small three bedroom home; her shawl was wrapped tightly around her. "I had given up on seeing you today."

When Heath and Jim turned to face her, Heath felt as if his jaw would hit the ground. The Widow Patterson couldn't be a day over twenty-five, if that. Her dishwater blonde hair was drawn up in a bun and towards the back of her head. "I'm sorry, Callie," Jim smiled as gestured towards the wood in the back of his wagon, "not exactly been my day only where do you want my nephew and me to put this wood?"

"Thank you. Just put it off to the side of the house for now." The young widow answered as she smiled politely. "Then come on inside. The least I can do is give you a small bite to eat before you go home. Better yet, let me talk the two of you into sharing the spare bedroom for the night. It's too far of a drive for you to head back to your ranch tonight."

Jim shrugged his shoulders as he grabbed a hold of some wood. "Arrived home past dark before; however," he said as he looked at Heath, "I'd appreciate it if you let Heath rest while I unload what little wood is here. He's exhausted and," Jim looked at Heath, who seemed ready to object, "Don't tell me you're not tired. I know better. If this load was any larger, I would need your help. Only, it's not. Now, go rest." He stated firmly as he headed towards the side of the house.

Heath _was_ tired, but he couldn't just sit in the warm house knowing Jim was working by himself. "We'll be in after we're through." Heath gave the beautiful widow in front of him a crooked smile and went to help Jim. It was all Callie could do not to chuckle as she heard Jim start arguing about needing help. Turning around she headed back inside, deeming it unnecessary to involve herself in the discussion. It wasn't fifteen minutes later before Jim and Heath were washing their hands and sitting down at the kitchen table.

Heath looked around. The kitchen/dining area were the same room. A door in the far left hand corner separated it from the living room. On the west side of the kitchen, in the far upper right hand corner was a door that was wide open. He could see that it was a bedroom. There was another door in the lower left hand corner of the same side of the room. It was closed. Since he'd seen a door in the left hand corner of the living room when he entered the home, he assumed it led to the third room.

"Thanks for the food." Heath said as Callie sat a plate of gravy and biscuits in front of both Jim and himself.

"No problem, I…" she started to answer only to have the door to the closed bedroom open. All three adults turned their eyes toward the room and smiled as a small girl who looked to be around four or five walked out.

"What are you doing up, Sarah?" Callie quickly walked over to her young daughter and picked her up.

"I heard Grandpa Barkley's voice." Sarah answered.

Jim, who had seen the puzzled looked that appeared on Heath's face, chuckled as he stood up. "Callie is like a daughter to me, and her parents are both dead." The look in his eyes said even louder 'I'm not hiding anything!' "Sarah started calling me grandpa a few years ago." He then walked over to Callie and held out his arms for his 'surrogate' granddaughter. Callie smiled and handed the child to him.

"Sorry, little girl." Jim smiled as the child put her head on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to wake you. How about I take you back to your room?"

"Not tired," Sarah said as she started yawning. Naturally that only served to make her mother, her 'grandfather' and Heath smile and chuckle. Jim headed for the bedroom, humming as he went. Once he had disappeared into the bedroom, Callie spoke up.

"Your uncle has been a godsend to me since my husband passed on." She began cleaning up the small mess that had been made while she cooked the small meal.

Heath, once he had begun thinking about it, remembered Victoria saying that Jim had taken a family under his wing. She'd commented on how great she thought it was that her brother in law had done so. "How long have the two of you been alone?" He asked as he drank down the last of the milk his hostess had given him.

"I lost Isaac shortly after we found out we were going to have Sarah." Callie answered as she began wiping down the counter. "Crazy fool thought he'd try to break a horse when he'd never tried it before. Broke his back instead, he died from complications that arose a few hours later."

The statement made Heath cringe slightly, as he remembered how close Ward Whitcomb could have easily have had the same thing happen to him...and how easily Nora could have been alone as well. Though, with that being in the past, Heath just as quickly brushed it aside and thanked his hostess.

"I meant it when I said you and your uncle could stay in the spare room." Callie said as she smiled at her guest who was looking more tired than he had before. "Not a very big room I admit, only it has two single beds, one on each side of the room."

Heath would have turned down the offer only he could no longer deny what his body was telling him…it had to have some rest. "Thanks," Heath stood up, "If my uncle will stay, I will." There was no way he was going to accept the offer with no other males in the house.

"We'll take the room." Jim, who would have normally turned the offer down, could also see how tired Heath was. He startled both Heath and Callie as he stepped out of Sarah's room and spoke up. He walked up to Callie and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks,"

Heath nodded his head slightly and thanked her as well, then followed his uncle out of the kitchen.

 **~oOo~**

Heath wasn't sure what time it was when he opened his eyes, only it was still very dark outside. He might have rolled over and went back to sleep, but his mind was too much on the reasons for the trip to Abbottsville. After giving his eyes time to adjust to the dark, Heath swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Soon he was sitting up and looking around the best that he could. The moonlight coming through the window wasn't much, but it was enough. He stood up and quietly slipped over to the window that was two feet from the bed.

Heath looked up at the stars and the moon which was barely a sliver in the sky. Everything was quiet and things seemed peaceful enough, only they weren't…at least not for him. _"Uncle Jim needs help on his ranch for a few weeks, just until his foreman gets back from Wyoming."_ Victoria's words sounded again in his ears. Heath couldn't help but wonder if she'd have asked him to make the trip if she'd known he'd wanted to return to Abbottsville without telling anyone why he was doing so and she'd just handed him the perfect cover. His thoughts turned back three years.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Do you think Jarrod will like it?" Audra held up the quilts she and Beth had been making for the elder Barkley brother. They were planning a surprise birthday party for the famous attorney the moment he and Nick arrived home. The two brothers had traveled down to Abbottsville; Jarrod to go over some legal documents with Jim, and Nick was checking on some horses._

" _He and Nick need to make it home before we start worrying about that one." Beth spoke up. The fact that the brothers were five days overdue had the family extremely worried, and Beth was failing to hide her fear._

 _Before Heath, who had been standing quietly next to the fireplace, could say anything the front door opened and Jarrod walked in…alone and looking rather upset._

 _Heath felt his heart skip a beat. "Where's Nick?" he asked as he took a step toward his older brother._

 _Jarrod, who had wondered why Heath hadn't travelled as fast as he could to get to the town their uncle lived in, looked at his blonde haired brother with a stunned looked upon his face. He instantly realized just why his brother had been absent, or what might be the cause anyway. "Didn't you get my telegram?"_

" _What telegram?" Beth and Audra asked in unison, giving Jarrod his answer._

 _Jarrod made his way to the chair near the entrance to the foyer and sat down. His eyes filled with pure anguish and his shoulders slumped forward as he said quietly, "Nick's disappeared. Uncle Jim, I and half the town of Abbottsville have been looking for him. I wired you. I guess I know now why you never replied."_

 _ **End of Flashback**_

Heath shook off the melancholy feeling that he found trying to overcome him off. After Jarrod and cleaned up and rested, he and Heath had traveled back to Abbottsville had spent a solid month combing the area and asking questions only to get nowhere. In time, Victoria, Audra, Eugene and Beth had come to accept that Nick had most likely met an untimely death somewhere along the way. They grieved sorely and then went on with their lives. Both Audra and Eugene had recently married and moved away from the ranch; Audra and her husband had moved to Modesto while Eugene and his wife went to San Diego.

On the other hand, Heath and Jarrod had had many private talks about the fact that they felt strongly that Nick was still alive. Though, they were at a loss to explain why he had not come home if that was the case. No, he and Jarrod had never given up hope of either finding Nick alive and getting some answers as to why he'd stayed away or finding Nick's body and the answers as to why he had to die. Heath and Jarrod had taken every chance that came along to go to Abbottsville; that is, when it would look like they were going there for some other reason. Each time they'd kept their ears open and looked and each time they'd come up empty handed.

If it wasn't for the fact that Jarrod was up in San Francisco working on a very important case, he'd have found a reason to accompany Heath to their uncle's ranch. Heath sighed as he again thought on his stepmother and the rest of the family. If they'd known how he and Jarrod felt, what they'd been doing the past three years, both Jarrod and Heath were sure the others would have come unglued and told them to just accept what was. So, here Heath was in Abbottsville once more, praying like mad to find his missing brother or at least get some much needed answers.

While Heath thought his uncle was asleep, Jim had actually woken moments after Heath had slid out of bed. He didn't have to ask why his nephew was standing by the window and staring out at nothing in particular. Inwardly, he sighed. Like Heath and Jarrod, he had been keeping his ears and eyes open. Slowly he sat up. The movement turned Heath away from the window. He was surprised to see Jim sitting on the edge of his bed. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to wake you."

"Nick?" Jim asked as he kept his eyes on Heath.

"Yeah," Heath shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the side of the bed he was using. "My head says to accept the fact that he's with my mother, our father and others who have gone ahead." He shook his head and turned his head towards the window. "But…" Heath's voice trailed off as he felt a familiar pull on his heart.

"Your heart and gut are telling you different." Jim finished the sentence. He felt bad for Heath and would have had a lengthy discussion with him, only it had to be three in the morning and they needed to get some more sleep. He would talk with him on the way to the ranch. "Lie down son and relax. It's not like you can come up with another excuse and run off; well, not at a time like this."

Heath stared at his uncle. The way the man said 'another excuse' told Heath that Jim had not been in the dark as Jarrod and he had assumed he was. Slowly a small grin spread over Heath's face, for he realized he and Jarrod had had an ally in their corner and had never known it. "Yes, sir," Heath lay down on the bed and did his best to relax, not easy to do as his mind kept wandering. However, within a half hour Heath was sound asleep.


	3. Step in the Right Direction

Chapter Three

Heath again sat in the Widow Patterson's kitchen, only this time he was listening to her almost five year old daughter chatting with his Uncle Jim. He'd been around his share of children, but Sarah took the cake. She was asking Jim all sorts of questions, enough to drive a man crazy. Still, Jim smiled and answered patiently. It was easy to see how much he adored his "granddaughter". Heath, himself, kept silent as he the group ate…speaking only when he needed to which meant he spoke very little.

"It was a good breakfast Callie." Jim, who always enjoyed eating at his 'daughter's' place, stood up and set his utensils down. "Thank you."

"You're not going, grandpa, are you?" Sarah asked before her mother could say a word.

Jim was flattered that the child wanted him to stay; however, he also knew he and Heath needed to get to the ranch. He knelt down beside Sarah's chair and laid his hand upon her shoulder. "I'll come back the first chance I get; I promise."

"Now, let your 'grandpa' leave, child." Callie spoke in a loving, but firm voice as Sarah threw her arms around Jim and hugged him. She didn't want him to leave only she knew her mother was right. Besides, her Grandpa Jim never lied to her.

"Okay," Sarah said as she let go of Jim and slid off her chair. Seconds later she was in her room playing with the doll her mother had made for her. Jim went back to eating his food.

While Callie had never had cause to meet Heath before, she-like everyone else in town-knew the story of his brother's disappearance. When Nick had first disappeared, she had only paid a little bit of attention as she honestly didn't know a thing. However, lately, she'd heard a few things that made her wonder if she did indeed know something about what had happened to Heath's missing brother. That is, if what she heard was true. She'd almost said something the night before, only all she had were rumors, nothing concrete. However, when Jim announced it was time for them to leave, she finally decided it couldn't hurt to say something. After all, Heath and Jim could always verify what she would say to be true or false, whichever the case was. This being the case, Heath and Jim were both shocked beyond measure when Callie sat up straight and said, "I might know someone who might be able to help find your missing nephew, Jim. Well, that or give the two of you some answers."

"What?" Jim and Heath both exclaimed; their surprise clearly visible as they looked at Callie, who was folding her napkin again and again.

"My brother," Callie slowly answered. "He busted his leg while up in the hills cutting wood with a friend. When his friend brought Paul back to the doctor's office, I heard them talking. I didn't hear everything, so I might be totally wrong, only I think those two have their suspicions concerning the disappearances of a few men over the past fifteen years."

"Others have disappeared?" Heath's eyes widened. This was a fact that he had not been aware of and he looked at Jim.

"A few… scattered over a period of time. Never enough to make anyone suspicious though." Jim admitted as he nodded in the affirmative. "To be honest, I've been looking for Nick when I could. I would have said something," Jim held up his hand when Heath looked as if he was about to interrupt, "but I kept my mouth shut for the exact same reason you and Jarrod have kept yours shut." His eyes dared Heath to deny what he, Jim, had already figured out.

Heath couldn't help but smile. It felt good to know that his thoughts from the previous night were right; Jim _was_ in his and Jarrod's corner. "Mother would not approve of what any of us have been doing. She grieved something fierce for Nick, but now, she would definitely disapprove at what she'd see as holding onto something that can't be changed."

Jim agreed and then looked at Callie, "We'll talk to him. Thanks," Jim pushed his chair away from the table, having finished his meal. "Now, if you don't mind, we need to get back to town. It looks like we have more than a horse to pick up."

"Bye, ma'am." Heath nodded and gave her a crooked smile as he turned to follow Jim, who was walking out of the kitchen. "Thanks for the food and the information."

"Name's Callie, not ma'am, come back soon, okay?" Callie said as she returned his smile with one of her own. A few minutes later, Jim and Heath were heading back to town to get Charger.

 **~oOo~**

Paul, Cassie's black haired brother who wore his long hair in a ponytail, sat on the porch of his home, which sat two miles from his sister's house. Jim and Heath had ridden up to his home not five minute ago and were now sitting on his porch, in chairs Paul's wife, Carolina, had brought out. He was only half surprised to learn why Jim and Heath had shown up at this place. When asked, Paul confirmed what his sister had said. "There's a mine that sets up in those hills, along with a lumber mill." Paul said as he readjusted his sitting position and his leg which rested on a stool in front of his chair. "The Johnson family owns them and a few of their relatives, along with some friends from a hill community up there, work for them."

"What has that got to do with the disappearances over the years, including Nick's?" Jim, who was fully aware of the mountain community to which Paul was referring to, asked.

"Maybe nothing," Paul shrugged his shoulders and then said in a questioning tone of voice, "How can they bring in the amount of silver- and logs from the lumber enterprise- they do if only a few members of the family and some friends are working the two places?" It was a fact that he had to admit had bothered him for some time.

Jim shook his head. "I admit you have a valid question. Only more than one of us, talking about people here in Abbottsville, have been up that way…including the law and myself. The Johnsons have never tried to stop anyone from looking around, and in, their mines. Also, the other people up there have never stopped us from coming and going as we please."

"I know only," Paul took a deep breath and surprised Heath and Jim when he admitted that his friend and he looked at his broken leg as a blessing. "Call me what you want, but I can tell you, someone was watching us. We couldn't see them, only we knew they were there."

"You think they were going to grab you?" Heath, who had remained silent, spoke up.

"Maybe," Paul turned up the palm of his hands. "If they are using forced labor as William and I suspect they might be, they might need more 'help'."

It made Heath sick to think that perhaps Paul was right, and Nick had been taken to work with the lumber or in a mine. Nick hated mines; that would be a nightmare for him! Then again, he knew his brother well enough to wonder-if Paul was right-how Nick had been kept up there for three years. Heath looked at Jim. "Do you think you could get me up so I could look around?"

Jim hesitated and then, due to what Paul had just admitted, nodded. "I think so, only we'll need the law with us. If they are forcing men into labor, they'll be less likely to cause us trouble if we have a law officer with us."

Heath, who agreed, didn't argue. However, he did ask his uncle and Paul to tell him all they knew about the lumber business and mine Paul was talking about…along with the people who lived in the hills.

 _ **A/N**_ **The next couple of chapters will be going back in time to 1877. When the story jumps back to 1880, I make a note of it.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

 **Reminder: The story has gone from 1880 back to 1877**

"I never said that." Nick said as he and Jarrod, climbed out of the stagecoach they'd been riding in. "I just said it would be easier if went directly to the Walters' ranch and got my business over with while you took care of your legal obligations. It's not like you need me at the city offices."

"No, I guess I don't." Jarrod said as he reached in the stagecoach and grabbed his briefcase that he'd almost forgotten. "I'll see you tonight." He said as he then turned and walked down the main street of Abbottsville. Nick headed for the livery stable where he hoped to find the horse his uncle had promised to leave there for him. Nick would have preferred to have put Coco in the railroad car when he rode the train to Reno and then ride the animal to Abbottsville, but he and Jarrod were pressed for time…and the stagecoach was faster. Soon Nick had the promised horse and was riding out of town and towards the ranch that belonged to one Henry Walters a red headed gentleman who was known to be a good businessman.

The five miles he had to travel to the ranch were filled with beautiful trees and some wild life…which made up for the not so pretty brown and grayish rocks that could be seen dotting the landscape. The ride proved peaceful enough and time passed fast enough. Before long he was standing on the porch of the Walters' two story house. While it was not as majestic as the Barkley's home, it was still quite impressive and had four bedrooms. Nick went to knock on the door only to have Mr. Walters' son-nineteen year old Lyman- come around the corner of the house. The boy's hair was as red as his father's only he stood six feet tall, unlike his father who stood five feet nine inches.

"May I help you, sir?" Lyman asked with a smile on his face; he always wore a smile when company was around. He didn't want to be blamed for chasing any of his father's friends or customers away.

Nick introduced himself and asked if Henry was around. "He was expecting me for another hour or so, I admit." Nick told the lad. "However, the train my brother and I rode into Reno was ahead of schedule, as was the stagecoach. That part, the train and stagecoach being ahead of schedule, had been quite the pleasant surprise to both he and Jarrod. Usually those two things were famous for being late if anything.

"Come on in," Lyman opened the front door and let Nick in. Once inside Nick looked around. The living room into which they stepped was larger than Nick thought necessary, only he wasn't about to say so. He could see an archway in the upper left hand corner of the room. With no door attached to it, Nick could tell it led into a dining room. There was a matching archway in the upper right hand corner. He assumed it led to such rooms as a study, along with a staircase. There had to be a staircase as he saw no way to get to the second floor from where he stood.

"I'll get father. Take a seat on the sofa if you wish." Lyman said as he disappeared through the archway on the right.

Nick might have done just that, only a young brown haired girl who looked to be around twenty-one or twenty-two walked out of the kitchen. She jerked backwards in surprise and then apologized. "I didn't know we had company."

"Your brother let me in, Miss." Nick explained. "I've got business with your father." He wondered at the lightning fast look of anger that passed over her eyes and then left.

"Henry Walters is my uncle; Lyman is my cousin." She stated flatly and with a look of indifference in her eyes. "The name is Teresa Farrell, not miss." She paused and then softened the tone in her voice. "Sorry, there was no reason for me to be so abrupt with you; you're a stranger to this house and don't know the relations between those living here. May I get you something to drink?"

Nick couldn't help but wonder what sort of relationship the young lady had with her relatives to react the way she had. Still, he was too polite to ask. "Do you have any whiskey?"

"Uncle Henry keeps that kind of drink in his study. I'm afraid the only drinks I can get you are water, milk or lemonade." Teresa answered.

Nick was thirsty, so he smiled and told her he'd simply take a glass of water for the moment. Teresa left and then returned with the water. By the time he drank it, Henry Walters had entered the room. Teresa took the glass from Nick and excused herself.

"I appreciate you coming clear from Stockton to look at these horses, Mr. Barkley. Even after your uncle said you might be willing to look at them, I feared the distance would make it unprofitable for you to do so. Most of them are in the corral."

"I'm afraid if I was looking at them for myself, I wouldn't be here. I only came as a favor to some friends of mine back in California. They're the ones interested; just family situations at the moment prevent them from coming." Nick didn't add that he thought his friends would be wasting their money as they could get just as good horses in California. "Though, what do you mean 'most of them'? I thought you had all the horses they were interested."

"All but one, he escaped up into the mountains the other day. My son and his friend have located the area he's in. I was hoping to get your help in rounding him up today, if possible. He's an extraordinary one; I'd hate to lose the profit he'd bring me." Henry told him.

Nick wasn't sure he really wanted to go chase down a stallion at the moment. Of course, he still had to look at the horses the man did have. "I'll let you know after I check these other horses out." He said and then asked if Henry minded if he, Nick, went and did just that.

"Of course not, help yourself." Henry answered as he told Nick which corral the horses were in. As he left the house and headed for the corral, Nick got the funny feeling he was being watched.


	5. Warning, Should have Listened

Chapter Five

When Nick reached the corral to look at the horses, he was surprised to see Teresa standing on east side of the fence talking to the horses. "They're good horses." Teresa said as she rubbed the side of one horse's face. "Especially this one,"

Without walking the animal, Nick could tell the stallion was a fine one. He was sure if he looked closer he'd see that it was as good as the young woman said it was. "Your uncle says the best one got away the other day, wants me to go up in the hills with him to try and catch it." He simply made the comment for the sake of conversation. He was unprepared to see the look of terror that came into the young woman's eyes or to hear her speak in a low voice as if she was trying to make sure no one but he heard her. "Don't go with him, Mr. Barkley. The horse was an excellent one; it's true." She shook her head and then said, "But something ain't right up in those hills. Men have disappeared up there in the past. No, not to the point where most people would think anything of it, only I tell you…it's not safe!" Teresa stressed the last few words, not wishing to see their visitor come to any danger.

Nick didn't know what to think. Mr. Walters had a reputation of playing it safe, too safe at times. In fact, from what Nick had heard, he wondered how the Nevada rancher had had the success he had. After all, a successful person was one who was willing to take a risk if necessary. "If it doesn't happen enough to turn anyone's heads what makes you think I should stay away?" Nick asked, wanting more than a warning obviously based on stories and fear.

A mixture of frustration and anger appeared in Teresa's eyes. "I can't give you any solid evidence!" she snapped and then apologized. Her shoulders dropped slightly and she took a deep breath, a look of sorrow filled her eyes. "When I was eight my father went up in those hills. He was supposed to be only gone for a day. When I was twelve, one of my best friend's brothers did the same, and when I was seventeen? A gentleman in town went up there to set some traps. None of them ever came back!" She shivered. "I tell you, something is not right up in that area! I don't care if my uncle and his family don't believe me, to the point where they've told me to stop talking about it."

Nick felt bad for the young woman and the loss's she'd suffered only it didn't seem to him that he had anything to worry about. Of course, he didn't wish to upset her anymore than she was already. He went to tell her not to worry about him when he saw Henry Walters coming towards him. Before Nick could say anything, Teresa had practically torn into the nearby barn. His eyebrows turned down for a moment. She had run into the barn as if her life depended on it. He was troubled by it, only he didn't have a lot of time to think about it before Henry walked up beside him.

Looking around Henry said, "I thought I saw my niece out here."

Nick heard the suspicion in the man's voice. After what Teresa had told him concerning her uncle and the rest of the family, he figured it was because Mr. Walters wondered if she had scared him away with talk she'd been asked to leave alone. "She was just talking to the horses, though she left as she had other things to do." He knew that wasn't quite true, but he was sure the young woman had found something to occupy her time, and he didn't want her to be in trouble with her uncle.

Henry, who had seemed uptight, relaxed and looked toward the hills. "So, you willing to help me catch that stallion? Or at least try?"

"Something ain't right…" rang in Nick's ears. For a moment he wondered if he should heed the young woman's advice. Only he pushed it aside when he looked at the horses in front of him. If the missing stallion was better than the ones he was looking at, it had to be as valuable as Mr. Walters was saying. "I'll get my horse saddled." Nick said as he stepped away from the corral. He then turned and headed for the stable.

"I already have my horse saddled." Henry told him as he, Henry, headed for the house.

Once inside the stable, Nick began saddling his horse. When he heard a sound off in the corner, he looked over to see Teresa looking at him. There was such sadness in her eyes that it chilled him to the bone. Again, he thought of backing out, only he didn't. He wasn't going to let fear of something that so seldom happened stop him from helping Mr. Waters look for the stallion. "We'll be okay." Nick, who had led the horse to the stable doors, looked back at Teresa.

"I hope so." Teresa replied softly and then watched Nick lead his horse out of the stable.

 **~oOo~**

Nick and Henry rode past more than a few trees and turned more than one corner as they began the search for the stallion Henry claimed was so valuable. For the first few miles not a word was spoken. Then Nick broke the peaceful quiet when he asked how long Teresa had lived with Henry and his family.

Henry, thinking his niece had caught Nick's eye, quickly did what he could to get Nick to see he should look elsewhere. "Teresa's mother died when she was a baby. Her father brought her and her brothers here to live with us. He adored his family, but one day he was gone and no one could find him. Her older brother moved back east the first chance he got. I fear he and I did not get along, and he seldom writes because of it. Like her father, a friend disappeared up in these hills. But, they were two separate times and years apart. If anything, I'd call it an ironic coincidence. I fear it's caused her to be a bit delusional." Henry said as he and Nick ducked…a tree branch was hanging over the path they were on.

Nick went to say something only to get the same feeling he had when he'd first went to the corral. He didn't like it and wondered if he was going to wind up wishing he'd listened to Teresa. He stopped his horse in front of a medium sized boulder and looked around.

"What is it?" Henry pulled up on his own reins.

"Can't shake the feeling we're being watched." Nick answered only to see Henry's eyes widen as he looked past Nick. Before he had a chance to turn around, Nick felt something hard hit the back of his head; everything went black.

 **A/N Next Chapter will be back in 1880**


	6. Opening a Cold Case

Chapter Six

Heath and his Uncle Jim sat in Abbottsville's sheriff office. The thirty four year old, brown haired sheriff sat behind the desk. Having lived in Abbottsville all his life, he remembered well the day he and others began searching for Nick Barkley. Only, after three years, he couldn't see the use of going up in the hills that surrounded Abbottsville yet again. Still, he wasn't about to tell Heath or Jim Barkley that. Having a brother go missing during the Civil War, he knew all too well the pain of not having any answers.

"It's been three years since your brother disappeared, Mr. Barkley." The sheriff looked at Heath. "Do you know what the chances are that we can find any answers, or what the odds are that we'd find him alive somewhere?"

"I don't care what the odds are." Heath answered, his eyes as hard as steel. "I intend to keep looking until I find Nick and some answers."

"Well," The lawman shook his head. "I'd tell you the first thing we need to do before we go up in those hills is to talk Henry Walters about that day. After all, as you know, he and your brother went up into those hills together. However, it would do us no good." Sheriff Roy Miller said as he leaned back in his chair.

Heath remembered Jarrod telling him how he, Jarrod, had talked with Mr. Walters. Unfortunately, the man hadn't exactly been very helpful. That is, he'd sat down with Jarrod and had told him all he could, but nothing he had told Jarrod had helped any. Heath and Jarrod had tried to visit the man on their subsequent visits, but he was always unavailable. Still... "Why do you say that?" Heath asked.

"He had a massive stroke six months ago. He was standing right outside my door when it happened. He said he and his niece had had words, and she'd left the ranch. He was concerned about her, wanted to know if I'd seen her. When I said no, he wanted me to look for her. I told him I couldn't. I mean, he freely admitted she left of her own free will, and she was a full grown adult. There was nothing I could do. He became upset and started throwing the worst temper tantrum I have ever seen a man throw. Only he never finished as he collapsed. He has been bedridden since and can hardly get two words out of his mouth…and even then you're lucky if you can understand him."

Heath started to ask if the sheriff would simply agree to go with them as he and Jim had originally asked him only too stop himself. He had to; he got the strongest impression they needed to go out to the Walters' place anyway. He didn't understand it, only he didn't ignore the feeling either. "So, let's go out and talk to his wife or family; maybe, he has said something to them in the past. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can go up and look around the mines and that community up there."

Once again the sheriff would have told Heath to drop it, only he had nothing to do anyway. He stood up and grabbed his hat, though he still voiced the thought that Heath was simply wasting time. Heath and Jim simply walked out the door, saying they were going for their horses.

 **~oOo~**

"I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am." Heath stood in the Walters' living room talking with Angeline Walters, the wife of Henry Walters. The sheriff and Jim Barkley stood next to him. "I don't mean to bother you. I was hoping, maybe, your husband had said something to you in the past, about the day my brother disappeared."

Mrs. Walters, who had been smiling politely, stiffened and her smile disappeared. "Henry didn't come home until the next day. He had a large bruise on his left cheek and wasn't talking. He just sat in the study with the door locked. When he finally came out, he would say nothing except that he was going into town. As you know," she looked at the sheriff, "he's the one who reported that Nick Barkley was missing. You know he spent days and hours doing all he could to help everyone find the missing rancher. He would never speak of that day afterwards."

"Never?" Heath asked as he got an overwhelming feeling that wasn't exactly true.

Mrs. Walters fidgeted as if she was struggling to decide whether or not she should say anything more. It didn't go unnoticed by any of the men.

"If you know something, Mrs. Walters…" the sheriff began to speak only to have Mrs. Walters break down and start talking once more.

"The day of his stroke, I mean before he went into town and had it." Mrs. Walters wrung her hands and turned her eyes towards the window. "I had sent Teresa into his study to tidy things up. He'd been so busy, and I was thinking it would be a nice surprise. Later, I heard my husband come into the house and head for the study. I was shocked when I heard him raise his voice and yell at our niece, asking her what she was doing in the study. I hurried into the study thinking to confess it was me who sent her in there. I was just in time to see Teresa slam a ledger down on the study desk. She was glaring at my husband. When she saw me standing in the doorway, she ran out of her saying she was going to go to town." Mrs. Walters sat down and shook her head. "I've never seen my husband so upset." She looked at the sheriff. "Sounds horrible, only I was relieved when you came and said he'd had the massive stroke. You see, he tried to tell me Teresa had gotten it into her head to get supplies from town, said she was going up into the hills and look around. I hate to say this only when he left I don't think he was concerned about Teresa's safety like he claimed. I…." She hesitated and then said, "I got the funniest feeling that; perhaps, my niece found something he hadn't wanted anyone to see." When the sheriff gave her a look that questioned why she hadn't said anything before, she quickly added, "Call me what you will, sheriff, but I didn't want to rock the boat as it were. After all, I had to live my husband."

Heath's heart skipped a beat as he thought on what Mrs. Walters had just said, "That ledger? Where is it now?"

"In Henry's safe, he put it in there before going to town that day." she answered as she held her hands together, "But, don't ask me to get it for you. He and our son, Lyman, are the only ones who have the combination." She looked at the sheriff and continued. "As you know, Lyman left two years ago; he went back east to stay with Teresa's brother, said he wanted to live his own life." She sighed and shook her head. "Henry and he argued before he left. I…" she hesitated and then said, "I didn't hear everything they said only I did hear them mention my late brother's name and," her eyes widened ever so slightly as she exclaimed softly, "and, come to think of it, Nick's." She again admitted she hadn't pushed the subject as it only served to upset her husband.

Heath, the sheriff and Jim looked at each other. The same questions ran through all their minds. What was in the ledger Teresa Farrell slammed down on her uncle's desk? What had Henry Walters and his son been arguing about and, more importantly, had Henry Walters been covering something up? For the first time since Heath and Jim Barkley had entered his office, Sheriff Miller was more than interested in re-opening a cold case.


	7. Teresa, Nick

_A/N: Heath's timeline is ahead of Nick's for now, eventually the two will catch up. This chapter is the day of Mr. Walters' stroke._

 _Anyone who reads over at the BV writer's desk...I messed up when it comes to the amount paid for the men. Geesh_

Chapter Seven

Teresa sat on her horse, though there was no saddle on it, hidden behind a clump of trees that sat roughly a hundred yards from the stable. Her aunt appearing in the study, and the subsequent conversation she had had with her husband, had given Teresa just enough time to get to the stable to get her horse and hide in the trees. She wasn't afraid that the fact that she'd left her saddle behind would tell her uncle something wasn't right. Why should she when she was well known for riding bareback; even into town? No, Teresa knew it wouldn't raise any red flags. Sure enough, she watched as her uncle disappeared inside the stable only to come out moments later riding his own horse. He was pushing his horse hard towards town.

Teresa turned her horse around and headed for the family's shack on the edge of the ranch. It held blankets, some non perishable food like beans and there was always a rifle and ammunition in the shack. She would need those before she headed up into the hills. As wrong as it might have been to lie to anyone, she had known it was the only way she'd get the head start she needed. As she raced towards the cabin she, mentally, went over what she'd seen in her uncle's ledger. Its contents had made her sick to her stomach. While she had not had time to read everything the few things she had read reached out and grabbed her so hard she'd never forget them. Three of those items were: _1865_ _Johnsons paid 1,000.00 for P.F., 1872 Johnsons paid 1,150.00 for C. M., and 1877 Johnsons paid 2,000.00 for N.B._

While she couldn't prove it, Teresa just knew the initials stood for her father Patrick Farrell, her friend's brother, Curtis Marshall and the rancher from California, Nick Barkley. If that was the case, then she could pretty well guess why her cousin had fled to the east. The Johnsons had to be using forced labor for their mines and other endeavors, and her uncle was one of their suppliers! Well, a portion of their laborers had to be in that position. Her uncle must have tried to get her cousin 'into the business'-as it were- and Lyman had wanted no part of it. Sure, she couldn't prove that, only her cousin was enough of a coward to take the easy way out if she was right.

Teresa wasn't sure what she would do once she got to the Johnson's main office; she just knew she had to see if she could find her father, friend and Mr. Barkley. While she would have preferred to go to the sheriff, there was no time as she knew her uncle would have caught up with her and stopped her before she ever got to town.

~oOo~

Nick could see the moon from where he lay on a cot. His right wrist was in one half of a pair of handcuffs. The other half of the handcuffs held his co-worker's wrist. The co-worker, a man from Lodi by the name of Isaiah Edmonds, lay on a cot just inches away from Nick's. With sleep evading him, his mind turned back in time, back to when he first came to after being hit on the head with what turned out to be a shovel.

 _Nick shook his head and opened his eyes. It took a moment to get his pupils to focus; it didn't take long to realize he was in what looked to be similar to a bunkhouse. Only there was one huge difference… all the men had been brought to the place against their will and all, like Nick, were chained to at least one other man. At first, due to the surprise in Mr. Walters' eyes, Nick feared the gentleman had fallen victim to the same fate. Then, after he and the gentleman he was first chained too-one Todd Banks from Modesto-Nick was filled with fury as he overheard one of the guards tell another guard that 'Mr. Walters had once again pulled off a perfect acting job'. It made him realize that Teresa had been right, only she hadn't known the threat came from her own relative. Well, that or she did, but was simply too afraid to come right out and say so. He didn't know which the case was._

Nick sighed as he continued looking at the moonlight. He remembered the first few months he was here and how he'd tried to get the first man he'd been handcuffed to to revolt and escape. The man chained to him tired of his hounding and shocked Nick by asking what he, the partner, had done to him. The man had also asked why Nick wanted to ruin any chance that he-the partner- had of getting the Johnsons to allow him to work in their lumber camp. Sure, that partner had admitted that the few who were allowed to do that were kept under extremely heavy guard, as there was no way to chain two men together in that line of work. Still, he wanted a chance to do it. When Nick asked what he meant, Nick was appalled to learn that the few men who had convinced the man chained to them to try to escape from the mine weren't the only ones punished. No, the Johnsons were cruel enough to make the man who had convinced his partner to try and escape watch as their partner was killed and then the Johnsons simply chained the instigator to a pole in the compound until they got him a new partner…and that could take some time depending on where they got a new partner from. The main instigator was also whipped at least once, if not twice, before they got a new partner. Needless to say not many men working in the mine tried to get their partners to escape. No one wanted to feel like they had another man's blood on their hands. It was that fact alone that had stopped Nick from trying to get his partner to help him get away. Though that hadn't stopped Nick from arguing with his captors and being an all around hard case; he had memories of being hit in his gut with a butt of a rifle and scars on his back from his own whippings to prove that one.

Nick looked over at Isaiah who was sleeping. The man had replaced Nick's first partner who had gotten his wish and been moved up to the logging camp. While Nick would have preferred that line of work over the mines, he knew he'd never get it. There was no way he was going to bow down and kiss up to Mr. Johnson or anyone else linked to this mess, and that's what it would take. What he needed was his freedom. He sighed quietly; the only chance he had of getting his freedom had to come from the outside.

While Nick had never been overly religious, he had always gone to church with his family and said his share of prayers. Now, two and a half years of being forced to work in the Johnson's mine, the prayers Nick had said since waking up in this nightmare had become more urgent. He had to get out of this place, but-without endangering Isaiah's life-he didn't know how. Nick sent another urgent prayer upwards and then managed to fall asleep, having no idea that the prayer was in the process of being answered.


	8. Partial Confession

A/N I hope I don't confuse anyone with the difference between Heath and Nick's timelines. As I've said, eventually they will merge.

Chapter Eight

Heath and Jim watched as the sheriff rode away from the Walters' ranch with Mrs. Walters following behind him in her buggy. She had agreed to send a telegram to Lyman Walters asking him to send the combination to the safe. Jim turned his face towards Heath after the sheriff and Mrs. Walters had disappeared out of sight.

"You're not going to wait to ask Mr. Walters questions are you?" He asked only because of the look in Heath's eyes. He might not know Heath as well as he'd like to only Jim would still know 'that' look. He'd seen it too many times in Tom's, Nick's and Jarrod's eyes not to.

"No," Heath turned around and went back inside. Once inside he headed straight for Mr. Walters bedroom. Sure he knew what he'd been told concerning Mr. Walters' speech, but there was more than one way for the man to answer some of Heath's questions.

It didn't take long to walk through the living room, down the hall that started on the south side of the house and enter Mr. Walters' bedroom. All right, not knowing which was Henry's, Heath had to open two doors on his right before he came to the first door on his left which turned out to be Mr. Walters' room. Once inside Heath stood at the foot of the bed while his uncle, who had followed him into the house, leaned against the wall next to the open doorway.

Mr. Walters' eyes widened as he lay in his bed and looked at Heath. He had never expected to see Nick's blonde haired brother inside his room. He tried to talk, but the only word that he could get out of his mouth was 'what'…and even that was garbled.

Heath took a deep breath and then said, taking a few risks with the things he said as the majority of what he planned to say was simply a bluff, to see if he could get anything out of the Henry Walters. "You've admitted that Nick and you went into those hills together the day he disappeared only we now know you lied to us concerning what took place that day. Was it because you were afraid you'd be blamed for whatever took place? Simply lift one finger off the bed if that's the case."

Heath wasn't surprised by the shocked look that leaped onto the man's face. He also knew that, if the man could speak, he'd be demanding to know what Heath was talking about. As it was, Heath had the upper hand as he knew there was no way for Mr. Walters could verify if Heath was telling the truth or not. "You and Nick didn't go in two separate directions looking for that stallion; you were together." Again, he saw fear come into Mr. Walters' eyes as he struggled to talk. Heath didn't give him a chance to deny it. "Look, I don't know exactly what happened up there only tell me this…did whoever beat on you kill Nick?"

He and Jim kept an eye on Henry Walters as the man stopped struggling to speak. Jim spoke up and told their 'friend' not to try and talk. He told Mr. Walters to simply answer the question with a shake-or a nod- of the head. A look of resignation appeared in Mr. Walters' eyes and he shook his head. Heath had to remind himself that the bedridden gentleman couldn't give him detailed answers in order to refrain from demanding answers right then and there. "So, they beat on you and took him away, and you were afraid you'd get the blame." Heath made the statement knowing full well that, if Mr. Walters had been innocent, he would never have lied in the first place. Only there was no way Heath was going to admit that. He hoped that Mr. Walters would see his statement as a way to try to throw them off the truth.

Mr. Walters grew agitated and began struggling to speak only to fail.

"I'm not asking for details." Heath leaned forward just a little. "Simply shake your head for no or nod for yes. That or you can lift one finger for yes. Is what I just said the truth-whoever beat on you took Nick."

"Even if he's wrong about how I got the bruise on my face, how did they find anything out?" Mr. Walters thought as he looked at Heath and Jim. Though, telling himself they had no prove of his secret business deals, Henry took the only chance he saw to keep suspicions of his involvement off him. He slowly lifted the pointer finger on his left hand up and then sat it back down.

Heath's heart skipped a beat as he decided to see if he could get Henry Walters to tell them if there was any truth to the rumors some in Abbottsville had heard concerning the Johnson's various operations and the people who lived in the hills. Only, before he could, the nurse Mrs. Walters had hired entered the room and said it was time for Mr. Walters' medicine. Heath would have stayed in the room only Jim pulled him out and back onto the porch.

"He can't give you all the information you want. It's enough for now you got him to admit he and Nick never left each other as he's claimed for the past three years. And, more importantly, we know he was alive the last time Henry was with him. Once we get inside that safe, we'll learn just what upset Teresa Farrell so."

"He can tell us if there's any truth to those rumors." Heath snapped and then apologized.

"I doubt that he will go that far. Once he really thinks about it, Henry's going to realize how much hot water he's in by admitting he lied to us before. He's not going to add to it by confirming any rumors connected to the Johnson family. We'll need solid evidence for that one." Jim shrugged his shoulders as he leaned against the railing that wrapped around the porch of the Walters' home. "Are you going to wire Jarrod?"

Heath nodded and answered, "Of course, I am, but not before I talk to Sheriff Miller." He then walked towards his horse which was tethered to a nearby tree. Jim did the same.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

It was almost noon before Teresa found herself sitting on a hill and looking down at the Johnson's mining camp. Due to her rough relations with her aunt and uncle, Teresa had spent as many days as she could camping-just to get away from them as often as possible. Because of that, she had learned to live off the land. It had been a blessing as she'd spent a week wandering around in the hills looking for any signs of the community that was supposed to exist in the hills, along with the Johnson mines she'd heard so much about. Needless to say, she'd had to make what food she'd taken from the shack last as long as possible. She'd begun to think she was wasting her time, only to hit the jackpot when she came across a young woman who admitted to living in the community in the hills and was heading to the mining camp. The conversation Teresa had had with her the day before while standing near a creek, one running through the hills, rang in her ears once more.

 _"Being an 'outsider', you're brave coming up here without a man with you." The young woman, who said her name was Adeline Mason, skipped a rock across the creek._

 _Teresa knew it was wrong, only she couldn't tell the stranger the true reasons for her presence in the hills. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. He disappeared in these hills three years ago." By the way the young woman looked at her Teresa knew the stranger was thinking that she meant the man was more than a friend. Teresa might have said something only she hoped the assumption would actually work in her favor. She held her breath as she waited to see what, if anything, Adeline Mason would say._

 _The look of one having an internal struggle could be seen in Adeline's eyes. It clearly told Teresa she had not misread her uncle's ledger. It made her blood boil. However, she made herself keep her composure. She could not let herself lose focus. "What's wrong?" She asked, keeping her eyes wide open as she did so. She couldn't afford to let herself get so caught up talking with this woman that she missed warnings that someone else was nearby._

 _"If I say anything," Adeline whispered, "They might not let me see my husband, and that would make many in my community very happy. They thought I was crazy for b…" the young woman quit speaking and whirled around when she heard a noise; Teresa's eyes went in the same direction. Both women were relieved when a deer emerged through some trees and-upon seeing them-take off in the opposite direction._

 _"Who's they? The Johnsons?" Teresa took a chance and whispered back._

 _Adeline's eyes widened as she took a step backwards. "You know about the Johnsons?"_

 _"Not everything," Teresa admitted, "but I've heard things. Please, tell me what you know." She wasn't about to say anything about her uncle's record keeping._

 _Adeline hesitated and then, in a hurried whisper, explained everything. She then shocked Teresa when she also admitted that her marriage would be considered a common law marriage due to the fact that she and the man she called her husband had never been legally wed. "We can't be married in that way. It would mean bringing a justice of the peace, or a man of the cloth, up here." Adeline then shocked Teresa some more by admitting that she had paid the Johnsons to let her pick a man to call her husband…said the practice had been allowed more than once in the past. Teresa didn't know whether to excuse herself while she lost her lunch, or to simply lose it right there. As it was, she simply sat down on a boulder and looked at Adeline with a look of disbelief._

 _"I guessed right then. Most likely my," Teresa hesitated, feeling more than uncomfortable with what she knew the young lady would think; still, she saw no option than to let the woman believe the wrong assumption…as Teresa wanted to keep the woman talking. After a split second, she continued. "'Most likely, my friend is in their employ now." She didn't have to act to get a look of distress to appear on her face; the distress was very real for her._

 _Adeline took pity on the stranger she'd found herself speaking with. "How smart is this friend of yours? I mean, if you were to show up, would he be smart enough to keep his mouth shut?"_

 _Teresa would have busted out laughing-as she had no doubt that, if anything, Nick Barkley would be more like glaring at her than pretending to be any sort of special friend to her. The one thing that kept her from doing it was the idea that her father or friend's brother might be there and say something. "He won't talk to me. Why?"_

Teresa came out of her thoughts as she fingered the necklace Adeline had taken out of her pocket and thrust into Teresa's hands. She could see men being led from the mine to the camp. Again, her stomach churned as she saw the way they were chained together. It told her Adeline Mason had not lied to her. Leaning forward she looked through the men, hoping to see the three faces she was searching for. Her heart sank as she could not see her father or Curtis. However, it skipped a beat as she saw the last 'team', as Adeline called the men, walk out. One half of the team she did not know. On the other hand, Nick Barkley stood out like a sore thumb even dressed in black coveralls and sporting a full beard and hair that had grown quite long; it was pulled back in a ponytail. The fact he had the beard and long hair, along with wearing a waist chain, had some of Adeline's words ringing in her ears again _"My husband behaves himself because he says at least he's alive and he doesn't want to have to wear waist chains during the day. The ones who find themselves in that position have been ornery and hard to handle. They also usually feel the butt of the guard's gun in their gut or their mouth. He says you can always tell who those men are because the Johnsons don't let them near a barber, which means they have long hair and beards. Joshua says men like that are pushing their luck."_

While it angered her to see that the Johnson guards had a waist chain on Mr. Barkley and his extra hair, it made her chuckle too. It would seem that-in spite of the circumstances-the famous rancher had not let them break his spirit. She admired that fact. Teresa let go of the necklace Adeline had given her before hurrying away from her and headed towards the front gate. She hoped like mad Nick Barkley would not-unintentionally-give the fact away that he had seen her before.

 **~oOo~**

Nick, who had indeed argued with one of the guards just that morning-thus feeling the butt of the man's rifle on top of having the waist chains put on, turned his head at the sound of a horse approaching the camp where he and the others were kept. His eyes widened as he recognized the woman on the back of the horse. He didn't know what to think when she dismounted, started talking to the guard while taking off a necklace and showed it to the guard standing inside the gate. The guard then turned and called out for another guard. The second guard hurried to the gate, talked with Teresa and then disappeared into a nearby office while the first guard let Teresa in. What on earth was going on? Nick thought only to himself before being bellowed at and pushed to keep moving.


	10. Visit and telegrams

Chapter Ten

"I'm not surprised you insisted on talking to Mr. Walters." Sheriff Miller smiled as he looked at Heath, who had just confessed he'd question Mr. Walters. "And, yes, I know about the extra telegrams." Heath had told Sheriff Miller that he had sent telegrams to various sheriffs in nearby areas; he told Sheriff Miller that all the lawmen had replied back saying that, yes, in the past a few men had gone missing and that all had had ties to Mr. Walters. "My deputy brought my mail straight to me." Sheriff Miller held up some of his own telegrams.

"Those rumors have to be true!" Heath put his hands the top of Sheriff Miller's desk. "Nick is alive and he's being forced to work for the Johnsons!" He was angrier than he'd been in a long time. Fortunately, he wasn't so angry that he was past listening to reason though.

"Probably, but we can't move just yet." Sheriff Miller leaned forward in his chair. "Sure we could go charging up into those hills. However, if" the lawman stressed the words 'however' and 'if', "you're brother is still alive and being held against his will as Paul and his friend suspect, do you think he'll stay that way if we do that without solid evidence? If we just go charging up there with circumstantial clues, they'll most likely hide your brother and then, after we leave, kill him before we can return… to cover their backs. We'll just have to wait and get that combination to the safe. I know Henry's son well enough to know he will send the combination…only we'll be the ones to pick it up. If there's solid proof in there as I suspect there might be," the sheriff paused and then said, "I'll deputize you, your brother-along with some other men just in case, and we'll go up together."

"Why wait? Why not just find someone who knows how to crack open a safe?" Heath asked as he paced the floor of the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Miller couldn't help it; he started laughing. "No one here in Abbottsville knows how to do that. Do you know how long it would take to get someone here who can? And before you ask, yes, I could send a few telegrams to jails and prisons in California and find a man willing to barter some time off his sentence to do it. Only," the sheriff shook his head, "Lyman will, hopefully, have sent us the combination long before we could get anyone. Remember, his cousin replied to Mrs. Walter's telegram and said Lyman was expected to be at the cousin's home in just a couple of days." The lawman sat back in his chair and sighed. "Go wire your other brother and then walk around town, do what you can to relax. We'll find out what's going on. I promise you that much."

Heath didn't like it only he had to admit the sheriff had a point. He thanked the man and then left the office. He became lost in his thoughts as he walked down the boardwalk, thus enabling him to bump into Callie Patterson. Sarah Patterson was holding her mother's hand and looking up at Heath.

"Mama always says keeping your eyes wide open helps to keep from hitting into something." Sarah spoke up before her mother or Heath had time to say anything.

Callie, who was thoroughly embarrassed by her daughter's bluntness, quickly reprimanded her daughter, and then told her to apologize. "Say you're sorry."

Sarah's eyes filled with confusion as she tilted her head to one side and replied, "But you always say never to lie."

Again, Callie went red from embarrassment. She would have gotten after Sarah again only Heath was laughing and kneeling down in front of the child. "I should have been looking where I was going; you were right about that." Heath made himself stop laughing as he continued speaking. "It was your mother's place to say something not yours. I mean, it was her I bumped into not you."

"Oh," Sarah lowered her eyes and frowned as she thought on what Heath had said. She then turned her head and looked up at her mother slowly. "I'm sorry, mama." She then apologized to Heath also.

Callie shook her head and smiled. "You need to work on stopping and thinking before you speak. However, don't worry. You're not in trouble this time." She then looked at Heath, who had stood back up. "Any luck?" Her voice might have been void of stress only her eyes weren't. It told Heath his new friend was probably afraid she'd frighten Sarah if she allowed the fear she felt to be heard in her voice as well.

"Some, not enough though." Heath answered as he found Sarah letting go of her mother's hands and, holding onto his, began swinging from one side to the other. Her mother felt as if she was dying from embarrassment.

"Sarah…" she began only to have Heath interrupt her.

"She's fine. Sheriff wants me to relax anyway." Heath smiled and then asked if they could move to the church yard which wasn't all that far away. That way they could continue talking, Sarah could continue playing and they wouldn't be blocking anyone trying to make their way down the boardwalk. Naturally, Sarah begged her mother to do so. Callie relented. Half hour later, Callie said she and Sarah had to be going home.

"Thank you, Heath. It's been a pleasant visit. I hope you find your brother." Callie smiled only to feel rather embarrassed when Sarah agreed and then told Heath it was the first time in a long time that her mother had 'visited any man this long'.

"Pleasure's been all mine, and I will." Heath smiled as he gave Callie and Sarah a crooked smile. Mother and daughter then turned and walked away. Heath sighed inside. Callie was the most pleasant and outgoing woman he'd met in a long time, and her daughter was outspoken, but downright comical too. He would love to think about courting Callie only he had to keep his focus on the reason that had brought him to Abbottsville in the first place. That being the case, he headed to the telegraph office; he had to get the wire sent to Jarrod.

~oOo~

Jarrod sat in his San Francisco office and stared at the telegram that his secretary had just handed him. He had to read it more than once to let Heath's coded message-one that they had come up after the majority of people had given Nick up for dead- truly sink in.

 **Closer to truth STOP Proof soon STOP Come Abbottsville STOP**

Shaking himself out of the shock he was in, Jarrod stood up, grabbed his jacket and headed towards his partner's office. The man had wanted a chance to do more on their current case; Jarrod was going to give him that chance. After that, he'd send a wire home to Beth and his mother to let them know unexpected business would keep him away home a bit longer than planned.


	11. Getting In and Choices

Reminder: Nick's timeline is still behind Heath's and Jarrod's.

Chapter Eleven

Teresa stood inside a small medical office. Standing to the side of the window, she looked out at the guards bringing Nick Barkley and his co-worker towards the building. The events of the past twenty four hours ran through her mind…the first portion of those being waiting at a designated spot until Adeline went and got her mother and brought her back to meet Teresa…as Adeline assured Teresa they would at least need her mother to help back up the plan Adeline had to pull the wool over the Johnsons' eyes. The woman was just as kind and merciful as Adeline had been-even if she wondered what her daughter was thinking, what they were both thinking.

 _"Yes, Miss Nelson, Adeline told me about you shortly before you arrived." Fifty year old, balding Alan Johnson sat behind the desk in his office holding the necklace Adeline had given Teresa-her 'ticket' into the compound as it were. Naturally he was clueless that Adeline had given him a false name for Teresa. "She said that while you'd never been to any sort of medical school you knew medicine better than any woman she knew; said you were so immersed in medical books since you were a child that the majority of the hill people didn't even know you exist. She said they still don't know as you have to travel to do any doctoring as her community would never accept a female physician. Though, she did tell me to talk to her mother; she could verify what Adeline said." He hadn't believed that until he'd had two of his men ride into the community and ask about her-but told them not to press the issue. They'd come back and verified what Adeline said…no one admitted to knowing such a woman except for Adeline's mother.  
_  
 _Teresa would be forever grateful for the young woman and her mother taking pity on her and pretending to have known her for years. At least the part about her, Teresa, knowing medicine wasn't a lie. She had studied medical books for years and often aided the Abbottsville doctor when he needed it. She was also grateful she'd always made herself scare when her uncle had any visitors. Since her uncle had never treated her well, she had often ignored him. This being the case, disappearing and refusing to play to hostess to any friends had been easy. At the time, she didn't know it would be a huge blessing in disguise; her disguise as it turned out. "I have plenty of experience. If you let me do what I can for your workers, it will save you a lot of money…not only in bringing a doctor up to treat the.." she paused as she thought on how Adeline had said to word things and smiled, "safe workers, but treat the high risk ones as well. If you keep them in good health, you'll spend less money on…advertising for new ones."  
_  
 _Alan Jackson got a slimy smile on his face as he set the necklace down, a smile that made Teresa want to reach out and slap him. As it was, she kept a poker face on, knowing this was the best way for her to get to know the compound inside and out. The better she knew the place, the more prepared she'd be when it came time to get Mr. Barkley out of the place. After all, from what Adeline had told her, and from what little she saw herself, Teresa figured that-as defiant and stubborn as Nick Barkley had obviously been- even after two and a half years the rancher would not know the compound as well as he could if he was free to go wherever he wanted to.  
_  
 _"But we'd have to pay you." Alan liked the idea of saving a lot of money, but he didn't want to see any portion of that profit leaving his pocket.  
_  
 _"Not if you pay me with…" she again paused as her acquaintance had instructed her and then said slowly, "a place to stay, some food and…" she paused and then said making sure she looked and sounded like someone interested in a companion, "something else I want more."  
_  
 _Alan sat straight up. He could see the dollar amount in his pocket book going up even higher than it was. "You would take…time with one of our workers as payments?"  
_  
 _"As long as I got to do the picking," It was all Teresa could do to get herself to say the words. It made her literally sick the way the man before her was using not only Mr. Barkley, but any of the men who were working for the Johnsons against their will.  
_  
 _"Well, Miss Mary T. Nelson," Alan Johnson stood up and held out his hand, "I'd say we have a deal." He then asked how she'd so successfully hid herself from the hill community.  
_  
 _"Now, you don't expect me to divulge all my secrets do you?" Teresa chuckled. She wasn't about to tell him she'd only met the two hill women the day before.  
_  
Teresa turned away from the window as the guards, Nick and his co-worker drew closer. As part of her new job she was giving each and every worker a full-fledged physical. That way two birds were being killed at the same time as it were; one, the Johnsons got their workers health needs taken care of, and she had a chance to look each man over. Once again, it made her sick. Two guards stood in the room with her; they'd been there all day. Inwardly she sighed as she was sure that by now all the men in the compound knew what was going on. After all, the guards weren't exactly being quiet about the dual purpose of the visits. If she could have, she would have given the guards both barrels. As it was, she prepared herself for the icy glare she was sure would be hers the moment Nick Barkley and his partner was brought in.

 **~oOo~  
**  
As Nick and Isaiah walked towards the medical office they could see Teresa standing by the side of the window. Her brown hair was done up in bun and sat on the top of her head. At first Nick found himself angrier than he'd been in a long time. He assumed he'd been wrong and that Teresa, like her uncle, had been in on his abduction…and that her sorrow and fear for his and her uncle's safety had all been an act. That is, until they drew closer and he saw the look of someone some under a lot of stress expressed in her eyes. It confused him, and he couldn't help but wonder if she was being forced by her uncle to help the Johnsons as he was. When she turned away from the window, he tried to keep an eye on her. Naturally, the guards took the fact that he was keeping an eye on Teresa the best he could the wrong way and he felt one of the gun barrels being jabbed in his back. "Keep walking, the nurse will check you out soon enough!" The guard who had jabbed him cackled worse than a wet hen. Nick might have retaliated, only Isaiah gave him a look that begged him to behave. Nick guessed it was because the man wanted to be seen by the pretty new nurse.

Once one of the guards opened the door, Nick and Isaiah stepped into the office and Teresa turned around. Since she had prepared herself for a cold greeting, she was instead surprised by the look of curiosity in Nick's eyes. However, she simply instructed the men to sit on the table. As she took a step toward them, she had an idea come into her mind and she took a chance. "Isn't there a way that the men you bring in here could be separated just long enough for me to give them their examination? It's been rather difficult to give a proper physical with the way things have been. Also, it is really necessary for a guard to be standing right here in the room and watching me like a hawk? My word, it's not like I'm going to do anything to endanger anyone."

The two guards said nothing at first then the first, a tall wiry man with a dead rat for a mustache-at least that's what it reminded Teresa of-opened the door and ordered another guard to take his place. "I'll be right back." He told her and then disappeared. Roughly five minutes later he returned saying Alan Johnson had instructed the guards to keep one man in the main room of the office while Teresa examined the second man in the examining room, telling his guards to keep another guard outside the window.

"You," the guard started for Nick only to have Teresa stop him.

"I'd like to examine him first, if I may." She spoke as politely as she could, hoping the man would listen.

The guard shook his head. "You don't want him, miss. He's more trouble than he's worth if you ask me, causes us more headaches than anything."

Teresa wasn't shocked at the glare Nick shot the guard, nor was she surprised when that same guard started to aim his rifle butt at Nick. She quickly stopped him by placing herself between him and Nick. "I don't need you attacking my patient in this office. Besides, after a comment like that did you expect him to smile at you?"

The guard lowered his rifle while throwing a glare of his own towards Nick. "I tell you, he's not worth it. Only two reasons he's still around is because we had a cave in shortly after he arrived and he helped saved most of the men-including the boss'- at the risk of his own neck, and he's not afraid of hard work."

Teresa wasn't surprised by what she'd just heard, not with what she'd heard around Abbottsville after he'd disappeared. "Then he's not all bad is he? Now, please, wait out in the other room."

"Yes, ma'am," the guard said as he and the other guard unchained Nick from Isaiah and then took Isaiah out of the room, but not before re-stating rather emphatically there would be a guard outside the window. The moment the door was closed Nick looked at her and asked as quietly as he could, with a bit of suspicion in his voice-along with a lot of curiosity, "What are you doing here?"

"Buying myself trouble," Teresa answered as she instructed him to take off his shirt. When he hesitated, she snapped very softly, "I've not only gone out on a limb for you, I already have one foot off it! Now, take your shirt off!"

Reluctantly, Nick did as he was told.

Teresa cringed as she saw his back and the evidence of the whippings and other beatings he'd received. Sure, some of the other men had scars upon their back only; somehow, seeing them on the back of someone she'd actually met before upset her even more. Silently she cursed as she examined his back and traced the scars upon his back with her fingers. She saw a few spots that had her concerned, thinking they might be getting infected. She was relieved to realize they weren't.

Nick moved uncomfortably on the examination table. Teresa felt his skin warm and his muscles tense. Her first thought was that the scars were still very tender and she had caused Nick pain, but when she faced him she recognized his dilemma. She should have known that a man as strong and virile as Nick, being kept in chains for two and a half years, wasn't going to be able to control his physical reactions to a young woman's touch.

Without causing Nick any further embarrassment, she apologized for her cold hands and started to apply a salve to the red welts on his back and then wrap bandages around, all the time explaining how the treatment would help prevent the scars from getting infected. "With any luck some of these scars will completely disappear," she added as she tied the last bandage. She then began the rest of the examination while she proceeded to whisper and tell Nick everything she knew and why she had come. However, she warned him it would not happen right away…as she still had no idea how to get him out. After she finished the examination, she stepped back. "After everything, will you trust me?" She whispered, looking at him with pleading eyes for him to do so.

Nick, who had been shocked by her words, wasn't sure what to think. However, this time, he did not brush her words aside. It was obvious what risks she was taking to help him, and it amazed him. "Yes," he mouthed in reply, nodding his head as he did so.

Teresa then opened the door and told the guards she was ready for the next patient and to tell Mr. Johnson she'd made her choice.


	12. If I had known

Chapter Twelve

Erick Johnson was standing next to the mine when Isaiah and Nick walked out. Due to the results of the medical visits two days before, Nick had heard one comment after another from the men he was forced to work with. It had been all he could do to bite his tongue and say nothing. All he could do was wonder just when he'd be taken to the small housing unit Teresa had been given. That question was answered as Erick looked at two other guards and began barking out orders. "Take him," Erick pointed to Isaiah. "Secure him to Mister Lee and Mister Harmon! But make sure both Mister Barkley's hands are handcuffed together!" He then glared at Nick as the two guards began doing as they'd been told. "You will walk three feet ahead of me and head straight for unit three; Miss Nelson is waiting for you." Nick didn't miss some of the crude remarks being made by some of the men in the near vicinity, but he said nothing as, once he was separated from Isaiah and both his hands secured, he began walking towards the unit. The whole time Teresa's question from when he was first taken into the medical office 'will you trust me' rang in his ears. He'd told her he would; he just prayed and hoped he could.

By the time Erick had Nick stop walking Teresa was standing on the porch. She did not hide the fact that she was not pleased to see Nick in handcuffs and still wearing a waist chain. "Your father promised me Mister Barkley would not be brought here in chains."

"We had to." Erick lied. "He caused some trouble in the mines today."

Teresa looked at Nick, who rolled his eyes without moving his head. Inwardly she growled. Before Nick had left the office she was now using, the two of them had agreed he would roll his eyes if the guards were lying-and they could not see his face. Since Erick was standing a few feet behind him, there was no way the man could see the signal Nick was sending Teresa. "You can remove the items now. If you want to object," she said as Erick started to open his mouth, "take it up with your father." She wasn't surprised when a scowl appeared in Erick Johnson's eyes, but she was more than relieved when he did not argue. Moments later, Nick was walking up the steps unrestrained.

Once they were inside, Teresa shut the door and invited him to sit on the small couch while she threw their supper into the oven. Since the kitchen, dining room and living room were one big room; Nick was able to watch Teresa as she walked over to the oven and, opening the door, slide the food she'd prepared inside. "I wasn't expecting you for another thirty minutes."

"Erick and a few of the guards had a meeting to go to." Nick, who had sat down on the couch next to the south wall, answered. An uneasy silence fell between them as Teresa sat down in a chair that sat a few feet from the sofa. Finally she sighed. "If I had known what my uncle was up to sooner, I'd have said something to the law." She looked at Nick; her eyes pleaded with him to believe her.

At first Nick said nothing as he thought on all her uncle's actions had cost him. "I believe you." Nick took a deep breath and then asked slowly, "Did you ever have cause to meet any of my family?" He knew his family well enough to know they'd look for him. He'd held onto the hope they'd find him until he realized that the Johnsons had men that would warn them when any one was searching the hills that surrounded the lumber camp and mining area. Each and every time the men like him were herded into a couple of tunnels that were behind false walls and-with more than one man guarding them with loaded rifles-were kept away from any of the search parties.

"Only from a distance," Teresa clasped her hands and bowed her head slightly, ashamed now of how she'd reacted to the news that yet another man had gone missing. "The first few times I didn't realize who they were. I mean, I saw them talking to my uncle and made some very wrong assumptions." She went on to explain how she never mingled with her uncle's friends. "By the time I learned who they really were, they and everyone else had combed the area. Since I didn't know what my uncle was hiding, I had nothing to give them so I…" her voice trailed off. It didn't matter though.

It was as if Nick read her mind. He gave her a smile and told her he understood. "You saw no reason to talk to them when you had nothing to add." He then took a deep breath and sighed. "I saw you looking out your window the other day, trying to see all the men. You won't see your father and Curtis." Pure empathy went from his eyes to hers; from losing his own father, Nick knew what he'd just said would do to her.

Teresa's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. "What happened to them?" She managed to ask quietly.

"That cave in, the one the guard mentioned to you when I was going to get my physical, they died as a result from their injuries. I'm sorry." Nick told her."

Teresa lifted her clasped hands to her lips and fought the tears that wanted to come. She'd never been one to openly show any sort of grief to someone she barely knew. Still, a single tear still managed to escape.

Nick, feeling more than horrible for her, stood up and moved across to the floor. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and let her cry. However, as he put his hand upon her shoulder, he got the distinct impression to simply stand where he was and to give her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

The small gesture might as well have been the biggest bear hug she'd ever received. Teresa turned her head and looked up at Nick, who was still looking at her with pure empathy. "I'll be fine." She took a deep breath and allowed another tear to escape…vowing the rest of the tears would be shed later when she was alone in her bedroom. "Thanks."

"No thanks, necessary." Nick gave her shoulder another squeeze, before she took a deep breath and got a hold of herself.

"At least they do not have to suffer through this….this situation anymore. Now," she looked Nick over and changed the subject, in an effort to distract her mind from the news Nick had just given her and to give him something back that the Johnsons had taken from him. "We've got to do something about all that extra hair of yours. Quite frankly, I'm shocked I even recognized you when I was looking down at the camp the other day." When Nick stared at her, Teresa shrugged her shoulders and asked if what he'd do if he was nervous about something. "A part of me told myself to turn around and leave only I couldn't." She then said, "Now, with all due respect, there are some men who should not have long hair or sport beards."

Nick couldn't help it; in spite of the news he'd just given her, in spite of everything else that existed in the compound, he started chuckling. It was the first real good chuckle he'd had since being forced into the Johnsons' service. Oh, sure, he'd shared a few chuckles with the men he worked with; but-somehow-it just wasn't the same. "I happen to agree only they won't take me to the barber."

 _"As long as you do your job, you can do what you like with him"_ Alan Johnson's promise to her repeated itself as she looked towards her sewing basket. "Who needs the barber?" Teresa moved swiftly from the chair she was using to the sewing basket which sat on the hearth of the fireplace. "I can't shave your entire beard off tonight." She said as she took the box down and opened it, "But supper won't be done cooking for at least forty minutes, and I can cut off a lot of it and I can get rid of that ponytail too." She put the sewing basket down on the kitchen counter and pulled out a pair of scissors. "Come on," she did her best to chuckle at the shocked look that had appeared on Nick's face, even if her heart was heavier than it had been in a long time. "Or have you all of a sudden fallen in love with that mop?"

Nick started beaming from ear to ear as he made his way to the chair she had pulled out from the table and sat down. He continued smiling as she took a hold of his hair and began cutting it.


	13. Chapter 13

Against All Odds

A/N Nick's timeline is now three months behind Heath and Jarrod's.

Chapter Thirteen

"What's your problem?" Alan again sat behind his desk, only his office had recently been remodeled. The ten by twelve foot room had been expanded by two feet and a large window had replaced the smaller one he'd had before. The expansion had made it possible to have a built in bookcase, one he'd wanted for years. The eldest of his three sons, Erick, was standing in the room extremely upset. The man was the foreman over the mine workers six days out of the week. "Since Miss Nelson has taken over handling any health issues of our workers the men are actually healthier than ever. Also," he said as he stood up, placing his hands on the desk, "It's been three months now since that Nick fellow was given to her and, from what I hear; he hasn't been near the problem he was before! That being the case, I ask again… just what is your problem?"

"I…I can't place my finger on it. It's just…why out of all the men here did she pick the one who was the one most famous for giving us fits!" Eric hated it when he felt something was off, but couldn't prove it.

Alan couldn't believe what he heard and snapped back. "That's why you're in here acting worse than a two year old child? I think you're just upset she asked for one our high risk men. Now, back off! She's never been a threat to us and," he got a wicked smile on his face as he said, "Obviously; she knows how to handle the man. Now get out of here. It's almost dark, and I want to get my work finished!"

"Yes, father." Erick turned and walked out of the office. From where he stood, he could see Nick sitting at a table near the window in a small housing unit…three or four times a week he was taken to the small cabin that had been given to "Mary" to use. By this time Teresa had also had their barber shave Nick's beard off. Erick, and everyone else, assumed there was the same relationship between the two as there was between Adeline and her man. Had they known that there was more than a developing relationship going on, the Johnsons would have stopped the meetings in a heartbeat and killed both Nick and Teresa. As it was, Erick finally told himself his father was right. He was upset she hadn't chosen one of their other workers, and it wasn't doing any good. He shook his head and walked away.

From where Nick sat he could see Erick walking towards the foreman's quarters. It was all he could do not to jump out of his chair and go beat the man senseless, as he was the one responsible for the scars on Nick's back. Only when Teresa sat down at the opposite side of the table did Nick turn his eyes away from the window. He couldn't help but smile. Even though he wasn't getting the kind of attention the other men thought he was, the talks and laughs he and Teresa did share had helped him out considerably. However, tonight's conversation had turned more serious.

"It's been three months!" Nick barked as quietly as he could, afraid if he raised his voice it would attract the guards attention in spite of the glass window; their attention was the last thing he and Teresa needed. "There's got to be a way to escape without endangering Isaiah's life!" he looked upon the woman he'd grown to admire and appreciate greatly with a good deal of love and concern in his eyes. It made him literally sick to think of what the Johnsons might do if they ever found out whom she really was and what she was doing in the compound.

Teresa stood up and, after retrieving a bottle of whisky and shot glass from the cupboard, handed him a shot of whiskey and sat down next to him…another thing he was grateful for. She had not only helped get rid of all 'that extra hair', but she'd also talked Alan Johnson into allowing her to give him small amounts of whiskey during their visits. "I told you before; _we_ have to gain their complete trust." Teresa looked at him. "As long as _we_ don't have that, they'll always keep an extra eye on us whenever we're together."

Nick sighed when he heard her stress the word 'we' and 'we're'. He lightly touched the small bandage Teresa had put on his chin just that afternoon and rubbed his side. More minor injuries he'd received when one of the guards had hit him in the chin and side with the butt of his rifle, the result of Nick having argued with one of the mining bosses. Could he help it if the man was stupid? "The man didn't know what he was talking about." He answered as he smiled at her.

Teresa shook her head as his dimples appeared. Why did he have to be so blasted attractive? It made it hard to concentrate. "Nick," She placed her hand over his. "I might agree with you on that only it doesn't change what is. And, what I say next is not to brag or anything like that, only it's the truth. The men working for the Johnsons no longer keep an eye on me like they did when I got first here. I found out a few hours ago it was because the owner of the mine and lumber mill told them not to worry about doing so. Now, from what I hear," she threw him a sympathetic smile as she gave his hand a squeeze, "you're doing as I told you to and-doing better about controlling that temper of yours only," she sighed knowing how hard this all was on him. "You've got to keep working on it." She paused and then said, "Are you aware that when Adeline visits her husband no guards are assigned to the unit they use?" She asked the question as she looked out the window at the guard that stood not twenty feet away from the unit she and Nick had been given to use. "Nor are the few other men who have wives who live in that community?"

Startled, Nick stiffened and leaned backwards in his chair. He had not known that fact; he had just assumed things. Teresa cupped his hand in both of hers. "Like I told you a few minutes ago, once I get Mr. Johnson to let me move into the cabin at the far end of the compound, I know how to get you out of here. That is once I figure out how to do it without harming Isaiah…only we can't have a guard posted practically outside our door when we attempt it. Please, for both our sakes, make it appear as if…" she hesitated she turned her head slightly to her left, her eyes turning downward as she did so.

Nick smiled and, turning her face back towards him, finished her sentence. "Make it appear as if you've succeeded in bringing me to my knees?"

"Nick, I would never…" the anxiety in her eyes tugged at Nick's heart strings and he put his finger on her lips to stop her. He then stood up, pulled her gently to her feet and wrapped his arms around her.

"You don't have to tell me what you would or wouldn't do. You've already proven to me what kind of woman you are." He pulled her to him and looked into her eyes. "Would it hurt anything if I kissed you goodnight before we separate and retire for the night." He and she had been taking turns when it came to who slept on the bed and who slept on the couch on the nights they spent together, but she'd informed him upon his arrival that night that she had managed to get a cot into the bedroom as well as a bed. "The couch is just too small to continue sleeping on' had been her exact words.

There was nothing she wanted than to let Nick kiss her, but she was also afraid that, with the feelings she was starting to have for him, things would turn into more than a one-time kiss. "I think we best just lie down. You had the bed last time; I'm taking it this time, but you can sleep on the cot that was delivered today. I came up with a believable reason for the Johnsons to give me one." She stepped out of Nick's embrace and away from him.

While he was disappointed, Nick didn't argue. He would never force himself on another human being. Of course, that didn't mean he let of the hope that someday he'd be able to kiss her. "Whatever you say," he smiled at her and then followed her into the bedroom and then headed for the cot while she took the bed.

~oOo~

Jarrod sat in the stagecoach he'd boarded once he got off the last train. He'd sent a wire to his wife, Beth, and his mother. He'd apologized and asked them to understand. He just hoped that, if this trip proved fruitful, they'd forgive him for not saying anything else.

He looked out the window. At the beginning of the stagecoach ride, the coach had been filled to capacity and he had to endure the constant chatter of its passengers. However, the rest of the passengers had gotten off at the last stop. He was glad, for he wanted to be alone with his thoughts which –as he read Heath's telegram once more- were memories full of Nick.

" _Nick!" Ten year old Jarrod stood in the barn glaring at his six year old brother. The young boy had roped his elder brother the moment Jarrod walked in the door._

" _What?" Nick looked at him with a bit of disgust in his voice. "I was trying to rope the barrel behind you! Not my fault you walked in after it was too late to pull the rope back!" Nick stuck out his tongue, and then quickly tore up the loft when Jarrod threw off the rope and ran after him._

Jarrod couldn't help, but chuckle at the memory. He still couldn't believe that by the time that he got up to the loft Nick had used a rope that was tied to the loft doors to slide down to the ground. Needless to say, by the time Jarrod slid down the same rope, Nick was out of sight. Later, Jarrod would learn that Nick had hightailed to their father and McColl, telling them he wanted to help them. Jarrod never did buy that one.

 _Jarrod tossed and turned trying to get some sleep. He'd been studying most of the afternoon, early evening and was now trying to get some rest. However, his dreams weren't allowing him to really rest. One minute he was asleep the next he was sitting straight up with the words "Jarrod and Help me" ringing in his ears. Nick was in trouble, and Jarrod knew it. He jumped out of bed, dressed and grabbed his horse. Then, in spite of the lateness of the hour, he rode hard, nonstop until he reached Stockton and the ranch. Hours later he, his father and others were pulling his hot tempered sixteen year old brother out from a mine shaft._

Jarrod shuddered at that memory. Even after Nick was found and rescued he'd had a rough road to his recovery, as besides a broken leg and one cracked rib Nick had developed pneumonia as well. As these memories plus others passed by his eyes the Nevada scenery flew by him, unsuccessful in its attempts to get his attention. Instead, after the memories finished playing in his mind, Jarrod once again looked down at the telegram he was still holding in his hands. For the thousandth time he read a portion of it.

 **Closer to truth STOP Proof soon STOP**

Not knowing of the things his blonde haired brother had found out and what Jim and the sheriff were now trying to help Heath prove, Jarrod was filled with anxious anticipation. If Heath was simply getting close to finding out what had killed their brother, he would not have added the words 'proof soon'. Those two words had been reserved to be used only if there was proof that Nick might very well be alive. "Nick, where are you!" Jarrod tilted his head back and looked up at nothing in particular and asked out loud, the frustration he felt could be heard in the words he spoke. "Where the blazes are you! When will we see you again?" He then closed his eyes and let more memories play upon his mind. What else was there to do? He still had a couple of hours before he reached Abbottsville.

~oOo~

Heath, who had once again gone to the telegram office stopped alongside the church yard and smiled. Callie had taken time out of her day to spend a few minutes with her daughter. She was pushing the young girl in the tire swing that hung in the church/school yard.

"Mama's, it's Mr. Barkley!" Sarah pointed to Heath, who had just started walking towards them.

Callie continued pushing Sarah, though she kept her eye on Heath. She had hoped he had some good news, only the tired look in his eyes told her he was still waiting. "Hello."

"Hello," Heath gave her a small smile. "Wanted to thank you for telling my Uncle Jim and me to go talk ta your brother, I forgot to do that when we visited before."

"Do you have any more proof yet? Were he and his friend right?" Callie asked, her heart skipping a beat, a bit out of fear for the other men in town.

"Looks like it, we won't know for sure until Lyman answers the telegram that was sent to him." Heath told her; he then sat down on a nearby bench. Callie joined him after her daughter insisted she wanted to swing herself.

"We've just met and I feel like we've been friends all our lives. I hope you find your brother and find him alive." Callie said as she kept one eye on her daughter.

Heath leaned against the tree that stood behind the bench he was sitting on. "Me too, been hoping that for the past three years." He paused and then said, "Callie, after we find my brother and this is behind us, I don't suppose we can continue being friends? I'd like to get to know you better, only I don't have the time for it right now."

Callie, flattered at his admission, smiled wide. "Of course, and don't worry. I more than understand where your priorities are-and they should be! You have to find out your brother or some answers; maybe, both!"

Heath smiled at her reaction. It told him; her talk about the importance of family wasn't just talk. "After we find him or those answers, you wouldn't mind then if I wrote and came by when I come to Abbottsville to visit Uncle Jim then?" He gave her a crooked smile.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't." Callie smiled and then suggested they help Sarah, who was having a hard time getting back into the tire swing after climbing out of it.

Only when Heath saw the stagecoach pull into Abbottsville and Jarrod climb out, did he bid Callie and Sarah goodbye. He had a brother to talk to.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The café that Heath and Jarrod sat in was almost as crowded as the stagecoach had been before the other passengers had gotten off. However, sitting at the corner table that sat near the window-along with the fact the patrons were not being quite as talkative as the people Jarrod had to endure on his ride, made it so the two brothers could easily talk quietly to each other. Naturally, the first thing Jarrod demanded to know was what Heath had found. "It's been killing me ever since I got the telegram." Jarrod looked at Heath, who gave him a raised eyebrow. "You know what I mean." Jarrod couldn't help but chuckle, and then he grew serious. "Just what have you learned?"

Heath took a deep breath and then began from the beginning. By the time he was through, he wasn't the only one that wanted to throttle Henry Walters'. "That son…" Jarrod bit his tongue as he remembered he was in a public place and there were women in the room, ones that would probably hear him if he actually said what he was thinking. "Why lie to us?"

"The only thing Uncle Jim, the sheriff and me can figure," Heath said while he twirled his drink around in his cup for a moment as he glanced out the window, "is that he had a hand in Nick's disappearance. We're hoping that the ledger Mrs. Walters saw her niece slam down on Henry's desk will prove that."

Jarrod frowned slightly and asked, "Where's his niece?"

Heath shrugged his shoulders. "No one's seen her since she ran out of the Walters' home almost six months ago. She hasn't tried to contact any of her family members either. If we are right, and that ledger does hold definite proof, I just hope her uncle didn't silence her." He didn't figure he had to elaborate on that remark. "Though, like I said, we're all hoping Lyman sends a wire soon."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two brothers as Jarrod thought on all that Heath had told him. If his blonde haired brother, uncle and the sheriff were right, it would explain the many days he'd get a feel of pure unease every time he thought on Nick. A mine, in his opinion, had to be the worst place for his hot tempered brother to find himself working.

"We need to get a posse with legalized deputies ready to ride when they're needed. Also, it might not hurt to contact a US Marshall as well." Jarrod spoke up after a solid five minutes of silence.

"Already done," Heath replied, "That is, contacting a US Marshall has been done. Sheriff Miller wants to hold off on the posse a bit until we have definite proof. He's afraid some of the men might let the fear of what might be to allow themselves to move too soon if they're told too soon."

Jarrod let out a 'harrumph' and took a swallow of the drink that the waitress had brought him. "Probably," He then said quietly, "I wonder how Nick's doing. I mean, after three years of forced labor-if that's what's going on-I wonder how he's held up." His eyes added his concern for what Nick's captors would have done to the hot tempered rancher to 'keep him in line'.

"Like a mule most likely," Heath grinned and picked up his own glass, "he's just as stubborn as one." The two brothers then continued visiting until their Uncle walked in and joined them at the table.

 **~oOo~**

Teresa, or "Mary" as the miners knew her, stood on her porch both confused and excited. Erick Johnson and another man, one of the guards known as Adam Wilson, were leading Nick towards her, but Nick wore no waist chain, no handcuffs and Isaiah was nowhere in sight. Since it was only two in the afternoon, she couldn't help but wonder what was up.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, praying like mad that wasn't the case as she had decided that, with winter closing in, she and Nick had to make a break for it soon.

She didn't know what to think when Erick took the butt of his rifle and, placing it on Nick's back, gave him a push-but not overly hard one-towards her. "His partner up and had a heart attack on us and, no," the man sneered, "there's no need for anyone's service but an undertakers. My father said we needed to either chain him to the post." Erick nodded towards the center of the compound, "Or, if you were willing, we could leave him in your custody. That is, unless one of the workers need medical attention. If that happens, he will be waiting for you in the main part of your office. Won't you?" Erick looked at Nick; it was all Nick could do not to reach out and wipe the grin off the man's face.

"No, sir," Nick forced himself to answer, the whole time cussing the man's name in his head. That got Teresa's attention. Nick never spoke politely to Erick.

"You're not fighting the idea?" She asked Erick and Adam in surprise while she kept her eyes on Nick, even though she was dancing with joy inside. If Nick was going to be left in her custody until they got him a new partner, they could make a break for it without worrying about endangering anyone but themselves.

"No," Erick answered as a rather ugly smile appeared on his face and the same kind of look in his eyes as he looked at Nick. "After what happened in the mine, he's not going anywhere."

Teresa looked at Nick with curiosity in her eyes, and answered, "He can stay here." Teresa didn't even attempt to hide her smile. Sure, she knew what Erick Johnson and the guard with him would think, but she didn't care. The sooner the two left the sooner she and Nick could go inside and talk.

"He won't cause us any problems while he's with her. Let's go find you something else to do until it's time for him to return to work." Erick told Adam and then walked away.

The moment the men had walked away, Teresa and Nick disappeared inside the cabin. Quickly shutting the door, she stood next to the couch which she had moved up against the west wall. She looked at Nick and congratulated him on getting Erick to think he wasn't going to pose any more problems. "However, I'd like to know what happened in the mine ...and why all of a sudden Erick is so sure he has nothing to fear from you, before we sit down and go over the plans you and I need to discuss."

" _That nurse has got to be pretty good in bed to get you to behave." William Carls, a man from Carson City, turned his head and looked at Nick who was working next to him. "maybe I'll see if she…" the man never finished his sentence as Nick took his free fist and sent it flying across the man's face._

 _Nick let out a string of cuss words. "T…" he started to say only to catch himself just in time and changed what he was going to say. "Mary's not that kind o woman! You will not talk about her that way!"_

 _Erick, who had thought Nick was simply acting out again, had hurried over just in time to hear what Nick was saying. He started grinning. Guess he knew for sure now his father was right. Mary T. Nelson had solved their problem for them. After all, if Nick Barkley was defending her honor, there was no way he'd do anything to jeopardize losing the time he was given with her. "Apologize to the man and get back to work!" Erick ordered seconds before Isaiah, who had started to speak up, collapsed._

"I wasn't going to let him get away with saying such things." Nick said after telling her all that had happened. "Besides," he took a step towards her. "I'm more than interested in you." He then took another step and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Teresa was torn. She had fallen hard for Nick over the months, though she was concerned their feelings didn't have the depth they should. She couldn't help think it was the circumstances around them causing the closeness between them. It was as if Nick could hear what she was thinking, and he lowered his head. "Does it matter what brought us together? Like I said, I'm more than interested in you." He brushed his lips against hers and pulled her close. It was all Teresa could do to get herself to pull away from Nick, as all of a sudden there was nothing she wanted than to ask him to lay with her…and she wasn't that kind of woman.

"We don't have any time to waste." Teresa, whose face was a bit flushed, said as she turned and walked over to the small fireplace that sat on the far side of the room. "From the way the men talk, the shortest amount of time it's taken them to replace a worker is three days." She turned around to find Nick standing right in front of her.

"So, we have two." Nick stated as he laid his hands upon her shoulders. Then, afraid he'd scared her away, he said quietly, "I meant what I said, but I'll back off, just tell me you feel nothing for me. That is, nothing that you wouldn't feel for a good friend." When she turned her face away from him without saying anything, Nick smiled and turned her face back towards him. Restating the time they had in which to make their move and his feelings for her, Nick again lowered his head, only this time he did more than brush his lips against hers.

Teresa wrapped her arms around his waist and managed to whisper in between his kisses, ones that she found herself returning, "We now have a way to escape without endangering anyone but us, we can make a break for it while you're waiting for a new partner. And, you're right; we have to run in the next few days…before they get you a new co-worker." She then made herself stop kissing Nick, "But, when it comes to us, I don't think it wise that we make any permanent decisions until we've had time to get to know each other outside this compound."

"All right," Nick pulled back and looked into her eyes. "But, if that's the case, we best go over our plans now and then leave as soon as possible." He didn't think he had to say why.

Teresa, whose cheeks were rather flushed, quickly agreed and let go of him. She hurried into the bedroom to get a pencil and paper. All their verbal plans needed to be written down and then the rest of the plans could be laid out. She'd then sew them onto the inside of her skirt in order to keep them safe until she and Nick escaped.


	15. Lies Uncovered

Chapter Fifteen

Jarrod and Heath stood in the study of the Walters' home, along with Sheriff Miller and a brown haired US Marshal by the name of Bryon DeMille; he'd ridden to Abbottsville upon learning what the local sheriff was investigating. The four men had ridden out to the Walters' ranch the moment both the US Marshal and the telegram sent by Lyman Walters were in the sheriff's office. Mrs. Walters anxiously stood in the corner; the words that had been spoken after she'd answered the door still rang in her ears.

" _Mrs. Walters," Sheriff Miller, who had known Henry's wife for many years, inwardly sighed as he took off his hat. "You have met Heath and Jarrod Barkley. Let me introduce you to Marshal DeMille."_

 _"What do you want?" Mrs. Walters found her heart beating quite fast as she wondered what was going on._

 _"We have a warrant here to search your husband's study, more precisely his safe." Sheriff Miller said as he held up a piece of paper._

 _"What on earth is going on?" Mrs. Walters looked from both lawman, knowing whatever her husband was hiding had to be major if a US Marshal was standing in their home._

 _Sheriff Miller looked at Bryon who nodded and took over speaking. "We've suspected for a number of years that Alan Johnson and his sons have been involved in forcing men into labor at their mines and in their lumber camps, only we have never been able to prove it. However," he looked from Sheriff Miller to Jarrod and Heath and then back to Mrs. Walters. "I've been told there's a ledger in your husband's possession that might give us that proof."_

" _I…I don't have the combination. Like I told Sheriff Miller, my husband would never give it to me." Mrs. Walters stammered. Of everything she'd ever thought her husband could be hiding, forcing men into labor of any kind had never been on the list._

 _"Your son sent this." Heath pulled a telegram that he'd picked up at the telegraph office out of his pocket. "He also sent another one, for the sheriff." Heath looked at the sheriff who pulled a telegram that had been delivered straight to his office, though he let Heath continue speaking. "It seems that Lyman's conscience got the better of him. He states quite clearly that his father is involved with the forced labor up there and that he feels strongly that his father lied to Jarrod," Heath nodded towards Jarrod, "and me when it came to our missing brother."_

Mrs. Walters watched as Heath knelt down and, taking a hold of the black round knob on front of the safe began turning it to the various numbers Lyman had sent them. Within thirty seconds, Heath had the door to the safe open and had five books lying on the nearby desk. When he began handing the books to his brother and the lawmen, Mrs. Walters-feeling more than awful when it came to what her husband had been secretly doing for years- spoke up. "The one you just handed your brother is the one my niece slammed down on the desk."

"Thank you, ma'am," Marshal DeMille said as he watched Jarrod open the book. It didn't take long for Jarrod to start muttering angrily under his breath. The moment he did that, Bryon and Sheriff Miller demanded to see the book. Jarrod more than gladly handed it over.

Both lawmen let out low whistles. There were dates, initials, amount of money paid by the Johnsons, along with one note after another that detailed Henry's involvement with the illegal activities orchestrated by Alan Johnson and his sons, along with many of the deals Henry had had a hand in….along with each and every man that would tell the Johnsons if a search party or the law were up in the hills. None of them could believe Mr. Waters had recorded all the incriminating information. "We're taking all these ledgers with us." Marshal DeMille said as he looked at Mrs. Walters, who made no objection whatsoever.

"And," Sheriff Miller spoke up, keeping an eye on Mrs. Walters, "I'll have to post a couple of men near your house until the law decides how to handle things with your husband. Yes," he held up his hand at Mrs. Walters, whose eyes had widened in shock due to her husband's condition, "with his health the way it is, I can't see it doing any good to prosecute him. No matter what, he's in a prison of sorts. Still, that decision is not up to me."

"We'll have to round up men to help us." Jarrod said as he and Heath, along with the foreman walked out of the study and then out the front door of the Walters' home. "We'll also have all the men who warn the Johnsons arrested first. We don't want them preparing for our visits as they have obviously done in the past. And then we'll have to go up there without making a lot of noise."

Marshal DeMille rubbed his chin and then said, "We'll leave here in the evening, getting up there when it's dark. They won't expect anyone that time of night. Well, not much chance of it anyway." He looked at Heath and Jarrod as he sighed. "You do realize there's still a chance that all you'll be doing is helping us arrest these men. I mean, depending on how they've treated their workers…." His voice trailed off knowing full well he didn't need to spell something out that the two brothers didn't already know.

"Mr. Walters will get a visitor if that happens." Heath muttered under his breath, only he was still heard.

While a sympathetic look appeared in the lawmen's eyes, Sheriff Miller was quick to speak up. "We'll pretend we didn't hear that this time. However," he pointed his finger at Heath and glanced at Jarrod, who was shooting his brother a look that screamed 'don't start acting without thinking; that's Nick's job!', "we suggest you don't repeat that again." He then headed for his horse, as did the marshal.

"We'll find him alive, Heath. We've beaten the odds by getting the answers we sought; we'll beat them a second time, I know we will." Jarrod clasped his hand down upon Heath's shoulder. "We'll find him, free him and take him home."

" _You better be right. If_ _not, Mr. Walters will still get a visitor!"_ Heath said only to himself as he and Jarrod headed for their horses. Out loud he simply said, "You bet we will."

Nothing more was said as they all wanted to gather the needed deputies and to get Nick's- and the other men's- rescue underway as soon as possible.

 **A/N Nick, Heath's and Jarrod's timelines are the same now.**


	16. So Close

Chapter Sixteen

Nick and Teresa had spent the previous night on the front porch and then disappeared around to the back of the unit that stood at the far end of the compound-she'd successfully gotten Alan Johnson to let her switch locations the previous week before. After discussing it to some length she and Nick had decided they didn't need to write anything down, and that all they really needed to do was find out how long they could spend behind the new cabin before the guards came looking. Both had been pleased when four hours passed before they heard someone approaching. When they heard footsteps, Nick and Teresa made sure the guard who checked on them was greeted with a somewhat compromisable situation….just enough to get the guard to flee in embarrassment. They'd shared a quiet laugh afterwards. When Alan Jackson showed up at the unit the next morning and had a talk with them, Teresa had simply told her boss it's what the guard got for being a Peeping Tom. She and Nick successfully fought to keep a poker face on as Alan promised it would not happen again.

Now, holding hands, the two slipped behind the building again. This time the guards who saw them simply snorted and made some rather crude remarks and went about their business. Since switching cabins, she had also convinced Alan Johnson to let her build a small fence-three feet in height-between the unit she was using and the building that stood next to it. She'd said it made it feel like a permanent home. In all reality, the two units stood in front of a heavily wooded area. She' known from the moment she saw it that-if it was just her and Nick and the view to the wooded area was blocked-they could easily cut the wire, slip through and escape. Only the extra man and the easily seen area- had prevented her and Nick from attempting an escape. She prayed for the good Lord to forgive her for being so elated with joy when she'd heard that she and Nick no longer had to worry about Isaiah even…even though she'd have preferred something besides his death for that to happen.

Nick quickly, and quietly, cut through a section of the fence. It didn't take long for them to be on the outside of the fence. He then worked just as quickly to repair the fence just enough to make it so someone would have to inspect it close up-which the guards would most likely do right off the bat-to see that it had been tampered with. They then crawled-to ensure not being seen-for a solid three hundred yards before standing up behind some trees. He looked at Teresa, her dress and hands covered with dirt and her hair a mess from brushing against the shrubbery that grew around the trees. Still, she never looked so beautiful to him. He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. Then taking a hold of each other's hands once more, they started running as fast as they could. They had to put as much distance as possible between them and the mining camp before their absence was discovered.

 **~oOo~  
**  
By the time Jarrod, Heath, Sheriff Miller, Jim Barkley, the good marshal and the other men with them-who had already arrested the Johnson's informers and taken them to jail- approached the mining camp they were shocked to see the place in an uproar. Men were running from one building to another, others-the ones chained to each other-were all being pushed to the middle of the compound. Jarrod and Heath didn't wait to see anymore. They, along with the lawmen and the men with them, circled the compound and the marshal let a holler so loud that Heath and Jarrod was sure that the Nick wouldn't have been able hear himself yell. Instantly everyone froze, except for Alan and Erick who tried to make a dash for the main office, only to be stopped by two of the men they'd forced to work for them.

"I believe the marshal wants to talk to you." The heavier of the two, a blonde haired gentleman by the name of Peter spoke up.

Alan might have said something only by that time one of his men had caved in and unlocked the gate. In no time at all, Sheriff Miller had handcuffs on Alan and Erick. The shouts from the men being held captive were deafening and-once again-Marshal DeMille had to holler.

"Where's my brother!" Jarrod grabbed Alan by the collar and sent flashes of fire into the man's face.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Alan, who never really got to know any of the men his henchman took, was honestly confused until Heath spoke up, his voice full of venom.

"Nick, Nick Barkley! Mr. Walters tricked him and brought him up to you three years ago!" Heath started to give Nick's description, only to have one of the men, who had been freed from his handcuffs, step forwards.

"He was forced to work in the mines like the rest of us, but he was given to the nurse who he," the gentleman pointed to Alan, "hired. Your brother was her pay. The two got quite close. Close enough that it appears she helped him escape. That was what the uproar was about when you first got here. Mr. Jackson and his men found them missing."

Jarrod and Heath had shock waves go through them, as did the men with them.

"Given to the nurse as pay?" Jim Barkley voiced his shock and looked around. Due to the way they'd found things upon their arrival, and with no one coming out of any of the buildings, he and the others feared the worst.

Jarrod, who had let go of Mr. Johnson due to the marshal's orders, grabbed the man's collar once more. "What's the nurse's name and where are they?"

Alan stammered out the only name he had and then growled, "You'll never see him alive again! Two of my men found that they'd tampered with the fence behind that unit," He gestured towards 'Mary's' home, "just before you got here. We didn't know if they'd successfully gotten out and then did it up, or if they failed and hid somewhere inside. That's why we were searching the place only," he said as he got a smirk on his face, "two of my men went through the fence and have gone after them." He didn't have to say his men had orders to shoot on sight; his eyes said it for him.

Jarrod planted his fist into the man's stomach, and then pushed him down and then ran to the building Alan had pointed to, along with Jim and Heath. Sheriff Miller, the good marshal and the other men with them started gathering up all the guilty parties…and telling the men who had been freed they could go where they wanted. That is, they were free to do so once they wrote their statements down, along with their names and where they were heading.

It was only a matter of minutes before Jim and Heath were looking down at the hole in the fence while Jarrod searched the horizon toward the woodlands. They'd been so close and now their brother and a young woman were running for their lives.

"We got the answers we were looking for and we've found out he's alive." Heath spoke as he and Jarrod looked at each other. "We can beat them the odds again."

Jim Barkley took a hold of Jarrod's shoulders. "He's right Jarrod, we won't give up now. Let's get moving. If the men Mr. Johnson sent catch up with them, Nick and the woman are going to need our help."

Jarrod said nothing, but he and Heath were right beside Jim when he let go of Jarrod's shoulder and ran towards the horses.


	17. Chapter 17

Against All Odds

Call it luck or coincidence, but Nick and Teresa had stumbled across an old miner who had acquired a couple of horses when his partner had been killed in a small rock slide. While Teresa had very little money on her, she did have one extremely expensive necklace that used to belong to a close f friend of hers...she had never told the Johnsons about it. How could she when she knew that Alan or Erick Johnson would come up with some reason to charge her with something just to get it from her? The old miner was more than happy to take a bit of the money she had on her, along with the necklace as payment for the horses, some heavy blankets and a few supplies. When the miner found out that they had no weapon on them, he'd chastised them-asking just how crazy they were traveling 'in hills like this without no weapon of any kind'. Not wanting to go into full details, Nick told the old man they'd left home under bad circumstances and had had no choice but to leave without weapons. The old man had surprised them by handing Nick a pistol. " _It_ _was_ _my_ _friend's_. _I_ _promised_ _to_ _hold_ _onto_ _it_ _unless_ _I_ _came_ _across_ _someone_ _who_ _needed_ _it_ _worse_ _than_ _I_ _did_. _I think you_ _fit that bill, young man"_ had been the man's exact words.

When they'd ridden away from the old man, Nick had told her he would replace the necklace, even though she insisted it wasn't necessary. Now Nick and she sat on a hill looking down at the area they'd ridden hard and fast from. They could see lights from what looked to be two different campfires…ones that seemed to be fairly close to each other, but not so close as to make them think it was the same group. There was no doubt in Nick and Teresa's minds that at least one camp belonged to Johnson's men. When it came to the second camp, Nick couldn't help but wonder if, by some wild chance, he knew someone there as he felt drawn to it. He might have suggested that he and Teresa head for the second camp, only problem was, the second camp was behind the first one…and he didn't want to risk Teresa's life to those men.

Nick turned and looked at Teresa. With a full moon out, along with every star under heaven shining down on them, it was easy to see how tired she was. While she had not uttered even the tiniest word of complaint, Nick felt more than guilty for he knew it had to be at least two in the morning. "Let's see if we can find someplace that will give us both a place to rest and cover should we need it. Then, in the morning, we'll make our way to Reno and catch a train to California." He and Teresa had talked about it. Not knowing about her uncle's stroke the two had decided that, while returning to Abbottsville would be closer, it would be wiser not to risk crossing paths with Henry or any of his friends.

Teresa wanted to keep going only she was too tired to argue. Besides, even if she wasn't, she knew they needed to be rested as morning was going to come soon. "Okay," she answered as she and Nick turned their horses away from the view and began to search for a place to spend the night. It took another thirty minutes before they found four humongous boulders that looked as if someone had purposely placed them in triangle shape, thus creating a space in which to successfully hide from anyone who might be hunting them. Nick and Teresa dismounted their horses and, leading them around to the back side of the boulders, tethered the horses to a couple of the trees which stood behind the boulders. Removing the blankets from off the horses, Nick and Teresa made their way into the natural space created by the age old stones.

Once inside Nick and Teresa laid out their blankets. While both would have preferred to have a bit more room between them, they were lucky to lay down with their backs towards each other and have a foot behind them. While it took her a few minutes, soon Teresa was sound asleep. On the other hand, Nick was wide awake. He couldn't help it as his mind kept going over the campfires he and Teresa had seen. He thought on Teresa and frowned slightly. He knew the kind of men who'd followed them and had no doubt what they'd do if they ever got their hands on her. "Marry me or not," Nick whispered softly in order not to wake her. "I'm not letting them get you." He remained awake for another forty five minutes thinking on how they'd talked about the adjustments he'd have to make once he was home and all he'd have to deal with. Finally, he relaxed enough to get a few hours of sleep.

~oOo~

Heath threw another piece of wood into the fire and sat down. He should be sleeping, only his mind was turning far too much. Unlike Nick, he was not in a position to see the light from the other camp. Had he been, he'd have pointed it out to Jarrod and his Uncle Jim before riding hard to get to it. As it was he was again thinking of the past three years and how close he and Jarrod had been when it came to being reunited with Nick.

"You're not going to do them any good if you don't get some rest." Jarrod, who had woken up to see Heath next to the fire, sat down beside his blonde haired brother.

"Three years! Just over three years! The Johnsons are lucky we had the law with us when we arrived at that compound!" Heath tossed a small twig that lay on the ground next to him into the fire.

"Let that part go, Heath. We can't get the three years back, but-hopefully-we can get to Nick and this Mary before Johnson's men do." Jarrod said as he gazed into the fire.

Heath thought on what they'd been told about the Johnson's nurse and what Nick's situation with her was. He looked at Jarrod. "What kind of woman takes a man as part of her pay?" His eyes asked 'what if he feels obligated to stay with her once he's rejoined society'?

Jarrod didn't answer at first as, when he'd heard the words spoken by the gentleman who told them about Nick's situation, he had been shocked to have an overpowering impression not to judge anything, or anyone, until he had all the facts. "I don't know and I don't know that I care right now. She's risked all to help Nick escape so she has at least a fair amount of good in her. And," he looked at Heath and answered the unspoken question. "All that is important is that Nick knows we're there for him no matter what. Now," he stood back up. "We best get some sleep if we're going to get back to tracking them the moment it gets light."

Heath didn't argue, though he did linger by the fire for another minute before making his way to his bed roll.


	18. Last Chapter and Epilogue

Chapter Eighteen

The sun was barely up when black haired, twenty five year old Thad and his brown haired, twenty nine year old brother Jeremiah Stone, who worked for the Johnsons, started tracking Nick and "Mary". Had they known their boss and fellow guards had all been arrested they would have given up the chase and gone their separate ways. As it was, they were pushing their horses as fast as they dared.

Thad, the thinner of the two men, swore and once again wondered out loud how Nick and 'that woman' had gotten a hold of any sort of animal. Naturally, his brother didn't like Thad's griping. "Let's not worry about that right now. If we let those two get away, Alan will have our hides plus some!"

Thad shut up, though he continued to gripe silently in his mind.

 **~oOo~**

"Mr. Johnson wasn't lying." Heath stood up after studying the tracks in front of Jarrod, Jim and himself. "There's a couple of men following them." He remounted his horse. "We need to do what we can to catch up." He spurred Charger on while Jarrod and their Uncle Jim followed with just as much haste.

"How far behind Nick and Miss Nelson do you think these other two are? How far do you think we have to catch up?" Jarrod asked as the scenery whizzed by the three. He was extremely worried what the two guards would do should they get a hold of Nick and his lady friend before Heath, Jim and he caught up with them.

"I can't answer the first question, but I'd say we're not far behind the guards." Heath ducked to miss a low hanging branch as he yelled across to Jarrod.

 **~oOo~**

Nick cursed silently when he realized he and Teresa had slept longer than either one of them intended. He quickly threw back the covers and, shaking Teresa gently, stood up. Teresa practically jumped to her feet when she too realized how much time had passed. "We've got to…" she started to speak only to have Nick lift up his hand to silence her as he stood behind one of the boulders and peeked out through the crevasse that existed between two of them.

Teresa listened closely. Slowly her eyes widened and she moved quickly to the boulder next to the one Nick was behind, and then she too peeked out. "What are we going to do?" She asked as Nick removed the pistol from the holster the old miner had wound up giving him along with the weapon.

"The only thing we can do." Nick said as he waited to see what the two men would do once they realized where his and Teresa's tracks led.

Thad, who could see the tracks the horses had left veered up towards the rocks, stopped his horse and leaned forward. Unfortunately the way the sun was shining down upon the rocks, and he saw reflection of the pistol in Nick's hand. "We know you're in there! Come on out!" he hollered.

"Like h…" Nick started to swear only to bite his tongue for Teresa's sake, "We're not going back!" He yelled, and then told Teresa to sit down and get as close to the rock wall as she could.

Thad turned to Jeremiah and instructed him to find a way to get behind the boulders. He then turned his attention back to Nick and Teresa. "Don't give us a fight, and I'll put a good word in for you with Alan!" Of course, he didn't mean it only he hoped to get Nick to surrender.

"Like I said, we're not going back!" Nick again swore silently. Why did he and Teresa have to go and oversleep?

While Thad and Nick continued to exchange angry words, Jeremiah had made it up behind the rocks. Seeing the horses Nick and Teresa were using, he figured he'd let them loose first and then go after the escaped prisoner and the woman who had betrayed the Johnsons. However, he had barely taken a hold of the reins when he heard the cocking of a pistol. "I suggest you turn slowly around and say nothing." Jim Barkley, who had seen what was going on from a distance, had left Jarrod and Heath and made his way to the rocks- and above Jeremiah-never once being seen by Jeremiah or Thad.

Thad, who had realized Jeremiah should have made a move long before this, took a chance and tried shooting Nick-who had moved his head just enough to be seen. He missed and the bullet ricocheted off, hitting who knew what. Nick shot back, but also missed. Thad went to try again, only to realize he'd lost focus and allowed the sound of approaching horses slip by him. Before he knew it, Jarrod was flying off his horse and taking Thad to the ground.

Heath ran towards the boulders as Nick helped Teresa out from behind him. They could see Jim lead Jeremiah around to the front of the boulders.

"Brother, it's good to see you!" Nick laughed and cried both as he embraced Heath and then, after Jarrod had secured Thad, embraced Jarrod as well. He wasn't surprised when his brothers and Uncle Jim began shooting one question after another at him. That is, once they'd finished embracing and letting their own tears of happiness flow.

"Hold it," Nick yelled and then, turning around and walking up to Teresa, who had remained standing by the boulders, took a hold of her hand and led her to where his brothers and uncle stood. "I believe you have met Teresa Farrell."

Jarrod, Heath and Jim-who had been more than shocked to see who had stepped out from behind the boulders with Nick-nodded and then firmly, but politely, demanded an explanation. Nick explained everything and then wrapped his arm around Teresa's shoulder. "She saved me in more ways than one. We can't let her uncle know she had anything to do with saving me."

"No problem," Heath spat in disgust, as he told Nick all that had taken place since he, Heath, had arrived in Abbottsville. He wasn't surprised when Teresa went a bit pale; though, she assured them she was fine.

"I just want to go home." Nick said when his Uncle Jim mentioned Abbottsville.

"We can't yet, Nick. You need to talk to Sheriff Miller along with Marshal DeMille." Jarrod sighed as his eyes gave his brother a sympathetic smile. "Though, I promise, we're all heading home the first chance we get."

Nick didn't like it, but he didn't argue either as he and Teresa went to get their horses while his brothers and uncle dealt with the former guards who had helped make Nick's life a living nightmare.

 **Epilogue (Five years later)  
**  
When Nick, Teresa, Jarrod and Heath had returned to Stockton, Nick had helped Teresa find work, a place to stay in town and continued to court her. She had stood by him as he'd adjusted to life as a free man once more- as had his entire family who –once they'd come out of shock- had been more than overjoyed to be reunited with Nick.

That adjustment had not been as easy as he'd hoped. What with the nightmares he'd had, the legal nightmare they'd all had to deal with and the fact that- when it came to the Barkley mines- Jarrod and Heath had had to continue handling those business deals for a solid four years. It was only in the past few months that Nick could get himself to even go near a mine, let alone step inside one. However, today Nick stood by the corral and breathed in the fresh morning air. He then turned around and smiled. From where he stood he could see Heath and Jarrod- along with Teresa, Callie, and Beth- sitting on the lawn, along with all of their children. He'd be forever grateful for the day Teresa and he had both realized that they did indeed love each other, and she'd accepted his proposal of marriage. That had been two years after she'd helped him gain his freedom.

Callie and Heath had married after he'd courted her through letters and visits for three years. Their two year old son, Heath Morgan, played nearby with Jarrod's and Beth's six year old daughter Elizabeth Ann and three year old son Thomas; six month old Adam Michael sat at Beth's feet holding his a small rattle. Even at six years old, Elizabeth Ann was proving good with children younger than herself. Callie's Sarah, who was now ten, sat under a tree reading a book.

Nick's smile grew as he gazed at his and Teresa's eighteen month old twins, Nicholas Matthew and Curtis Patrick who were now attempting to join the other children. Nick's smiled even wider as Teresa stood up. While her abdomen was not overly swollen yet, there was enough of a bulge to let everyone know that they were expecting another child. He stepped away from the corral. There was work waiting for him, but today it was going to have to wait just a little while longer. He wanted to spend time with his family.


End file.
